Wishes
by Tinkerbell90
Summary: A collection of Delena one shots all inspired by Disney and non-Disney songs. Ch. 13: 'That's why you brought me here? To feel safe and happy'
1. A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes

**AN: Hello there! So, I'm slightly Delena obsessed and love writing. Perfect to do some fanfiction. For those who haven't read my other story "The Long Way" I'll tell you (again XD) that English isn't my mother tongue and I apologize for all the stupid mistakes I make.**

**So, this "story" will be basically a collection of one shots inspired by Disney and some non-Disney songs. I love Disney and other animated movies since my childhood and there are so many great and inspiring songs. So I just had to do this! I will jsut use the songs, not the movie stories (at leats that isn't planned.) Anyways I hope you'll like it!**

**I would love to get some comments :)**

**Dislcaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries, the characters, nor the movie "Cinderella" or the song I used.  
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**Wishes**

_**A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes**_

"_A dream is a wish your heart makes  
>When you're fast asleep<br>In dreams you lose your heartaches  
>Whatever you wish for, you keep"<em>

Elena looked outside her window. It was dark and cold outside. She sighed.

"_Elena? Are you listening to me?"_

Elena shrugged. She almost forgot Stefan was on the phone. "Sure, I'm listening. Jenna was asking something from downstairs." She lied. If she would be honest with herself she would realize that she lied very often to him these days. "What did you just say?" She asked with a fake interest.

"_I just said that we had a new breakthrough today. We might know how to lift the curse from the moon stone."_

He sounded so enthusiastic. Elena felt horrible. All she got to say was a simple "Good.", because that was what she always said those moments. She missed conversations that didn't include "Moonstone" or "Klaus" or "Katherine". She looked outside her window again. Stefan was sweet and caring. He did everything to keep her safe and she felt completely unthankful. She longed for fun, not security. She longed for thrill not for precaution. She longed for love not for safety.

"_Elena?"_

"I'm sorry, Stefan…" she apologized, like she did almost every night they talked. Sometimes she asked herself if he didn't even notice she was acting different. That they were drifting apart over the whole madness in their life. She wondered why he never asked her. Damon always asked her what was on her mind. _Damon. _There it was. One name, one skip of her heart.

"_You should go to bed. We see each other in school. I love you."_

And she knew he meant it. "I love you, too." She said after a moment of hesitation. She hung the phone up and fell on her bed. She knew she lied.

Elena kept staring at the ceiling for a long time. She didn't know how long she lay in this position. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. I didn't matter to her.

She thought about Stefan again. He did everything in his power to keep her safe, to make sure she wasn't in danger all the time, but along the way, she thought, he forgot being boyfriend. He was her bodyguard and _good friend. _They kissed and told each other the three little precious words basically each day and Elena was sure, Stefan still felt this way about her, but for her it was just a routine.

She closed her eyes and saw Stefan in front of her. His sweet and sincere smile and the emerald green eyes that were staring at her. Suddenly the image switched. The smile turned into a cocky smirk and the green eyes were no longer green. They were blue as the deep ocean.

Elena opened her eyes and touched her chest. Her heart was racing. _Damon. _His name hunted her like a ghost. A beautiful and thrilling ghost. Sometimes she thought he was the only light in the darkness her life had become. He wanted to make sure she was safe, too, but he didn't stop being there for her. Really there. He talked to her about other stuff, made her smile and let her forget the upcoming danger.

She stood up and put her pajama on. She lay down in bed again and pulled the blanket almost over her head. Stefan. Damon. Stefan and Elena. Damon and Elena. She was never so confused about her own feelings before. It was like her heart was playing a twisted game with her and she didn't know how to end it.

She closed her eyes and tried not to think about it anymore. Then she started to dream.

_Elena opened her eyes. The sun was shining and the birds were singing a joyful song. She smiled and got dressed. She wore a beautiful blue dress and looked satisfied in the mirror. She opened the window and consumed the warmness of the sun. There was nothing to worry about._

_She went upstairs. Suddenly she realized she wasn't in her familiar house anymore. That one was bigger and older and looked much more expensive._

_She went to kitchen where Jenna was preparing the breakfast. "Good morning, Miss Elena. I hope you slept well." She said almost subservient._

_Elena eyed her strangely. "Morning, Jenna." She sat down and noticed something different about her aunt. She was dressed like a maidservant. "Why do you wear those clothes?" she asked and raised an eyebrow. Jenna gave her a worried look. "But Miss Elena, those are my working clothes."_

_Elena was confused. "Working clothes? But for whom are you working?"_

_Jenna softly touched Elena's forehead. "Miss, are you alright? Do you have fever?"_

_Elena shook her head. "I'm fine. Just tell me why are you working here?"_

"_Miss I am your servant. I'm working for you and the young Master Gilbert since your dear parents died."_

_Elena didn't understand the world anymore. Young Master Gilbert? She thought that would be Jeremy. "Where is Jer…uhm the young Master?" She asked and tried to act like she belonged in this world. Jenna smiled friendly. "He is in town and helps Queen Carol to prepare for the engagement ball tonight."_

_Elena narrowed her eyes. "Engagement ball? Who is engaged?"_

_Jenna laughed. "You are acting strange today, Miss. Prince Tyler and Lady Caroline, of course."_

_Elena was shocked. Something was really wrong with this world. Tyler was a prince and marrying Caroline? She bit her lower lip. Bonnie must have done some spell and sent her to some strange alternate universe. She hadn't a different explanation. But how could she get back into her own world? _Bonnie. _She thought. _Of course Bonnie can help me.

_Elena decided to play along to all the weirdness and to search for Bonnie. "Miss, don't forget to pick up your dress for the ball. There will be a plenty of young gentlemen and I heard Prince Stefan will be there, too." She giggled in excitement. "Prince Stefan?" Elena asked and raised an eyebrow. Jenna nodded. "Your private teacher, Mr. Saltzman told me that Prince Stefan is actually searching for a wife and rumor has it that he cast an eye at you during the last spring ball."_

_Elena stared at her in disbelief. _Stefan is a prince and wants to marry me? What else can happen? _She smiled at Jenna. "And you think I should dance with him tonight?" She tried to sound like she was actually happy about the fact that a prince seemed to be in love with her._

"_Of course! He is handsome, wealthy and since Prince Tyler is of the market, the best bachelor you can get."_

_Elena smiled slightly and left for the door. "Then I'll better get my dress."_

* * *

><p><em>She walked down the streets of Mystic Falls or as she learned Mystic Kingdom. Everything looked medieval and like it arose from a fairytale. Elena was fascinated and at the same time scared as hell. She was caught in some "happily-ever-after-world" and didn't know how to get back to her own one. She reached the Grill and noticed it was a tavern now. She slowly opened it and as she entered all eyes were on her. There were a few men with beards and glasses of beer and wine. Not a single woman. She gulped. Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable. <em>

_She slowly walked backwards, when she felt someone was standing behind her. She turned around and was happy to see a familiar face. "Matt!" she exclaimed and hugged her friend. Matt blushed and pulled away. He slowly walked her outside. "Miss Gilbert? What are you doing?"_

Miss Gilbert? _Elena eyed him with confusion. "Matt, it's just me, Elena."_

_Matt lowered his head and whispered into her ear. "Miss Gilbert, I know my mother worked for your family before she got married, but we need to be formal in public. You are a lady and I am a barman."_

_Elena shook her head. She couldn't believe she wasn't really on friendship terms with Matt in this world. "Promise me never to enter a tavern alone again. It is not safe for a Lady like you." He bowed his head and formerly kissed her hand. "Have a good day, my Lady."_

_Elena watched him as he left and went back to the tavern. That world was getting stranger each second. Suddenly someone typed her on the shoulder. She turned around, wondering what surprise she had to expect now. As Bonnie's face appeared right in front of her, she was deeply relieved. "Oh Bonnie, thank God!" She hoped Bonnie would still be a witch to send her back to her own world. Bonnie smiled and hugged her. "Elena you are late. We need to see the tailor to get our dresses for tonight." Elena followed Bonnie to the other side of the street. "I am so excited Elena. I hope it does not feel strange for you that your brother will be my escort."_

_Elena smiled lightly. Even in this strange parallel universe Jeremy and Bonnie were a couple. That certainly meant something. "Of course not. You are perfect for each other."_

_Bonnie blushed and pulled Elena into the tailor's house. They quickly got there dresses and walked back to Elena's home._

_Elena was impatiently. She needed to talk to Bonnie about the spell. "Hey Bonnie…you still do your…magic?" She asked carefully._

_Bonnie immediately pushed her hand towards Elena's mouth to keep her shut. She dragged her behind a tree. "Elena! You cannot say that in public. If people get to know I'm a clairvoyant they come and keep asking me about their future. I will never have my peace again."_

"_Clairvoyant?" Elena asked. "So, you're not a witch?"_

_Bonnie burst out in laughter. "Elena there are no such things as witches. Magical creatures do not exist."_

You should see my world. _Elena thought and just smiled. Bonnie smirked. "Even if I'm not a witch, I can be your fairy godmother tonight." She whispered with a giggle._

"_What do you mean?" Elena whispered back._

_Bonnie took her hand and closed her eyes. She concentrated very intensely and mumbled some strange words. Suddenly her eyes flung wide open._

"_What is it?" Elena asked worried. Bonnie let go of her hand and smiled again. "I saw something fantastically!"_

"_Okay…" Elena hoped she saw that she wasn't really a part of this world and that she need to get back to her own, but a part of her doubted that very strongly. "What did you see?"_

_Bonnie had a large grin on her face. "Today, you will meet your Prince Charming. He is handsome and loving and it will be your destiny to be with him."_

_Elena tried to smile, but deep within she was rolling her eyes. She already knew Stefan would woo her tonight. "Thanks, Bonnie. I better get dressed. I don't want to disappoint Prince Charming."_

_She left Bonnie and went back into her house. As she reached her room she slowly started to panic. That was all so wrong! She didn't belong into this world and she didn't want to. But if no miracle would happen out of blue she would probably end up marrying Prince Stefan and live with him in his castle happily ever after. That was something she really didn't want to._

* * *

><p><em>The ball was pretty and fancy and Elena enjoyed it more than she thought to her surprise. She wore a beautiful dark red dress and every man watched her as she walked through the ballroom. Bonnie and Jeremy were dancing together all night and seemed to have a great time. She heard rumors from some noble ladies, one of them was Liz Forbs to her surprise, who guessed that the young Gilbert heir will probably asked Miss Bennett for her hand. She giggled. The Jeremy she knew was in love with Bonnie, but he wouldn't think of a marriage so soon.<em>

_Her gaze wandered around to the newly engaged couple Caroline and Tyler. They were whispering and kissing all the time and looked just adorable together. Elena thought if she would ever get back home, she would have a word with Caroline about her love life. _

_She sighed. She wanted nothing more than to get home. Much to her relief Prince Stefan hadn't shown up yet. She looked at the big clock at the end of the room. It was one hour before midnight. A magic hour in fairytales, she remembered._

_Suddenly loud and high-pitched fanfares drowned every other noise in the room. Queen Carol smiled in excitement and prepared herself for a little speech. Elena was curious what was so important, but she got a light bad feeling in her stomach._

"_Ladies and Gentleman…" the Queen started, "It is my pleasure to welcome the young Prince of our neighbor country. Prince Stefan of Salvatore!"_

_Everybody clapped his hand and cheered as Stefan dressed all in red and gold and with a large crown on his head made his way to Queen Carol and kissed her hand. "It is always a pleasure to visit Mystic Kingdom." He said friendly._

_Elena looked at Bonnie who smiled encouraging. She wanted to run away as soon as possible, but it was too late. As the music started again and the couples around her started to dance again, Prince Stefan made his way to the crowd and bowed his head in front of her. "Lady Elena. It is my greatest pleasure to see you again." He formerly kissed her hand and smiled. Elena smiled back and nodded slowly. "Sure…nice to see you too."_

_He chuckled like she said something funny, which Elena found quietly insulting. "Shall we dance?" It was a question, but to Elena it sounded more like an order. Like he already knew they would dance. She grabbed his hand. "Of course." _

_He led her to the dance floor and they started to waltz. Stefan was a passable dancer, but nothing special. She tried to smile all the time and to hide her wish to get away from him. _

"_You may heard that I am searching for a nice woman to be my Queen?" he asked and stared at her. She giggled nervously. "Oh really? That is…nice." She didn't want to have this conversation. Not with Prince Stefan and not with the Stefan she know._

_He smiled nervously. "Lady Elena, you are a beautiful woman and a lady from a good house, it would be my pleasure if you –"_

_Elena suddenly pulled away. "Excuse me, but I need some fresh air!" She grabbed her dress and left the ballroom. Stefan stared after her._

* * *

><p><em>Elena reached the terrace which looked unbelievably beautiful in the moonlight. She took a deep breath and tried to collect herself. She didn't belong into this world and there was certainly nothing that could make her feel better.<em>

"_The people in there are very cozy, huh?" A familiar deep voice asked._

_Elena turned around and looked into Damon's fabulous blue eyes which looked even deeper in the moonlight._

_He took her hand and placed a soft kiss on it. Her heartbeat got faster. "I think we haven't been introduced, yet. I'm Damon. Princeling Stefan's contravened older brother."_

_Elena hold her breath. He was there. There in this messy fairytale world and he was with her. "I...I am Elena."_

_He smirked. "Hello, Elena." He bowed his head, but it didn't look stuffy like it looked when Stefan did it before. They kept staring at each other for a while._

"_Why are you contravened?" She asked curiously._

_He chuckled and she loved it. "You make it sound like it is something bad."_

"_Well, is it not?" Her tone was challenging. _

"_I disobeyed my father and so Stefan was named his heir after he died." Damon explained simply. Elena's lips formed and 'O' and Damon laughed._

_He leaned over railing of the terrace and looked at the shining full moon. "I hate such parties. They're no fun at all."_

"_I don't like them, either." Elena said and stood next to him. He glanced briefly at her. "Tell me, why did you leave my dearest brother on the dance floor?"_

_She was surprised. "You saw it?"_

_He looked at her and nodded. "Yes. I wonder why. Every woman would be lucky to be his chosen one."_

_Elena thought about it for a moment. "I'm not. He is certainly nice and sweet. But that is not enough for me." She searched for his eyes and they were locked into each other. She felt like she was getting lost in them. Like he could see right through the deepest of her soul._

"_What do you want?" he asked._

_She answered him automatically, without even thinking about it. "I want thrill and a natural easiness. I want anger and passion. I want to be free and captured at the same time. I want a kind of love that consumes me completely. Uncontrollable, unconditionally and unstoppable."_

_He smiled, genuine this time and took her hand again. He placed it softly on his shoulder and grabbed around her waist. "May I have this dance?" He asked and she nodded silently._

_The music was quietly. They could barely hear it, but it was enough for them. They played their own music inside of their heads. He moved her slowly and gracefully. She felt as light as a feather and every step came naturally. His touch made her shiver all the time._

_As they stopped they kept staring at each other. He softly stroked her cheek. She never felt this way before. Her whole body was aching for him. She wanted him to kiss her so desperately. Elena was surprised by her own thoughts and needs, but she didn't care anymore._

"_Damon…" she whispered and he pulled her face closer to his. She could feel his hot breath on her skin._

"_Elena…"he said in a hush voice. Their faces were inches away. Elena's heart raced and she was afraid it might stop beating._

_She slowly closed her eyes. "Do you really want this?" he asked in a whisper._

_She almost could feel his lips on hers. "Yes…" _

"_Good." He said and pressed his lips softly on hers. It was like an explosion inside of her. Fireworks were nothing compared to the sensational feeling she got when Damon kissed her. She swung her arms around his neck to pulled him closer. He tightened the grip around her waist and kissed her harder, with more passion and desire. She moaned silently into his mouth._

_He smirked as they pulled away to caught their breaths. "Not very lady like." He said smoothly._

_She smiled and kissed his cheek again. "I don't care."_

_He kissed her again when they were suddenly interrupted by the stroke of clock. "It's time." Damon said and pulled her hair out of her face._

"_Time for what?" she asked in a scared voice._

"_Time to leave." He said calmly._

_Elena was shocked. She didn't want him to leave her, never. "You can't leave! My friend Bonnie, she prophesied me to meet my prince today and I met you!" She shouted desperately._

_Damon smiled and kissed her forehead. "You need to go."_

_Elena shook her head. Tears were running down her cheek. Nothing made sense to her anymore. "Damon…" she said slowly. She rubbed her eyes. Everything went blurry. "Damon!" she yelled. He was disappearing right in front of her eyes. "Damon!"_

Elena opened her eyes. "DAMON!" she screamed and sat up. She breathed heavily and looked around. She was in her room. She was confused.

"Kitten, you okay?" She suddenly looked into Damon's eyes who sat in front of her. She didn't understand what happened. She was with him on the Lockwood's terrace. They were dancing and kissing. And now she was back in her room.

Damon took her face in his hands and looked worried at her. "Elena, talk to me. What's wrong?"

Suddenly it hit her. _It was a dream. Just a dream. _She was disappointed. A part of her wished it to be real. She tried to get it out of her head and suddenly wondered why Damon was in her room in the middle of the night. "What are you doing here, Damon?" she asked softly.

"I'm on Elena patrol." He said amused. "You know Stefan's crazy plans. Every three hours someone else is on the watch."

Elena sighed. That was typical Stefan. Her mind drifted back to the dream and she immediately blushed. "Why…are you in here?" She asked and hoped he didn't notice that she was nervous.

"I heard you screaming my name." He said simply.

Elena blushed even more. He heard it. He _heard. _"I had a weird dream." She said and hoped he wouldn't ask more questions.

He smirked. "So you dream about me? I'm touched. What was the dream about?" He blinked at her.

Elena touched her lips. She could almost feel the kiss again. The sensation and the fire. "It was nothing." She just couldn't tell him.

Damon smiled and kissed her hand. It reminded her immediately of her dream. "You know Elena, as the saying goes…"

"No…" she said skeptically,

He softly stroked her cheek. "A dream is a wish your heart makes."

She smiled. How right he was.

_**The End**_


	2. I Won't Say I'm In Love

**AN: So that's the second one short on my Disney-Delena series. Thank you so much for your great feedback. To prevent misunderstandings: All one shots are standing alone. The storeis have nothing to do with each other.**

**This timeI used a wonderful song from the wonderful movie "Hercules". I think it's just perfect for Delena. I used some of the lyrics as sentences for characters. It was such a fun to use Caroline as the "Muses" XD**

**I would love to get some comment. :)**

**Dislcaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries, any of the characters, the song or the movie "Hercules".**

* * *

><p><em><strong>I Won't Say I'm In Love<strong>_

"_No chance, no way,_

_I won't say it no, no_

_This scene won't play,_

_I won't say I'm in love"_

Elena sat at her regular table at the Grill and nipped at her coke. She didn't even know how she ended up here. Her closest guess was that Caroline got to annoying on the phone and she finally gave in. And now she was there, _alone. _

She rolled her eyes and looked to the pool table. Caroline was talking to Tyler and giggling like crazy. Elena nipped at her coke again and sighed. Her eyes wandered around. There were Jenna and Alaric all cuddly in a corner busy with sweet talks and kisses. She rolled her eyes again. Then there was Matt standing behind the bar and glaring at Caroline and Tyler. Elena rolled her eyes. And at last there was Damon. Sitting in front of the bar with that news lady Jenna introduced to him. Andie Star. Elena wanted to throw something. _If someone is called "Star" then she must be all fabulous, _Elena thought annoyed.

She knew she was being unfair and bitter and just jealous because everyone around her seemed to be happy. She played with the coaster. It was three months since she and Stefan broke up. _Three fucking months. _She wasn't exactly heartbroken which wondered her secretly. She was just mad. Mad at him. Mad at Katherine. And mad at the world and all men living in it.

It started out very harmless. He was around Katherine, trying to find out what she was up to, wanting to protect Elena, the usual stuff. But then things started to get weird. Elena first didn't notice or more didn't want to notice. She yelled at Damon more than once for telling the obvious because Stefan wasn't _that _type of a guy. She threw the coaster away and kept looking at her glass. _No…Stefan was good…he would never cheat me…don't make me laugh!_

The first time she really noticed something was going on was while they were making out. Embarrassing. He was kissing her and suddenly he said _her _name. Katherine. Elena was shocked, but Stefan didn't even seem to realize his mistake. Of course she stopped the little make out session, but she didn't tell him the real reason. She decided to play along, just for a while. One day she left from school earlier. Stefan wasn't there and even if she was mad at him, she wanted to check on him. She went to the Boarding House and obviously Stefan wasn't expecting a visitor. Clothes were all over the floor and Elena knew what that meant. She didn't even felt like crying when she saw them on the couch, in a very clear position.

She just stormed off and wanted to get away from all of it. She never felt so disgusted in her whole life. She would have been angry and heartbroken if he had cheated on her with any other girl, but Katherine was too much to take. Katherine, who looked exactly _like her._

Elena clinched her fists at the memory. Stefan ran after her and tried to apologize. She didn't even understand why. He obviously made his choice.

Since then she hadn't heard from him. He and Katherine left town in the middle of the night and Elena thought it was for the best. She cried a few tears and wrote pages over pages in her diary, but that was it. She was surprised that she didn't feel broken or empty after he left. There was just anger and mistrust all the time. It was untypical for her. Her friends were worried. Jenna was worried. Jeremy was worried. Hell, even Alaric was worried. Damon on the other hand didn't handle her with kid gloves. He made jokes and got her out of the house. They were actually hanging out a lot. She once asked about Stefan and Damon promised that he hadn't staked him behind her back. Elena was a bit skeptical, because Damon was pretty pissed when he heard about Stefan's betrayal. But other than a certain someone, Damon never lied to her.

Tonight he wasn't free for her. He met that _Andie girl. _Elena didn't even know her and disliked her already. She didn't understand her own feelings anymore.

"Hey, sorry I was a little distracted." Caroline apologized as she sat down next to Elena. "Yeah…whatever." Elena shrugged her shoulders. "You are busy keeping the barman and the werewolf on line." She said sarcastically and immediately felt like she spent really too much time with Damon. Her head fell on the table.

Caroline patted her back a bit unsure. "Elena, that can't go on like this. I'm sorry to say that, but you are a bitterly old woman!"

Elena looked up and couldn't look more disinterested. "Aha" She briefly glanced at Damon and _that woman_. She laughed about something he said and Elena wanted to take the rest of her coke and splash it into her face.

"Elena it's been three months you need to get back into the game!" Caroline sounded a way to enthusiastic for Elena. She didn't want to be 'back in the game'.

"Noooo…" Elena growled morosely. "No man is worth the aggravation. That's ancient history, been there, done that. No interest anymore."

Caroline gave her a reproachful look. "Yeah, because you're still upset because of _Stefan._" The way she emphasized his name was something Elena certainly didn't like.

She narrowed her eyes. "You think this has nothing to do with Stefan? Fine Caroline, enlighten me why am I so depressed?" Elena snapped.

Caroline chuckled. She pointed at Damon and Andie. "Because of that!"

Elena raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be upset because of Damon and the reporter chick?"

"Because, dear Elena, you are in _love _with Damon." She eyed her friend and waited for her to freak out. Nothing happened. Elena just stared bluntly at Caroline. So she decided to continue. "Why do you think you are not all heartbroken from Stefan's betrayal? Let me tell you, because he already lost your heart before."

Elena burst out in laughter. "Sure, Caroline. I'm head over heels in love with Damon." She rolled her eyes and looked at Damon again. He did his eye thing and _that woman _seemed to like it. She wasn't supposed to like it.

Caroline followed her gaze and giggled softly. Elena was totally jealous without even noticing it. "Elena, who do you think you're kidding? He's the earth in heaven to you…" Caroline said in an almost chanting voice and watched Elena's face turning red like a tomato. "You try to keep it hidden, but honey, I can see right through you. Girl, ya can't conceal it, I know how you feel and who you're thinking of."

Elena was left speechless. Caroline loved it to give relationship advices, even if she hadn't her own love life in control. She waited for Elena to say something. Or to throw something at her. That depended on her current mood now. Caroline blinked nervously as Elena kept silently.

Elena watched Damon again and he smiled. Her heart was beating faster. How could a man have such a gorgeous smile? She shook her head and looked at Caroline. She knew what her friend wanted. She wanted her to admit something, but she could wait forever. Elena wasn't going to admit anything. Because there was _nothing _to admit. That was what she kept telling herself.

She watched Damon as he nipped at his glass. He played with his lapis lazuli ring and listened to something 'Andie the star reporter' said. Elena sighed. Then he stretched his arms and looked around. He briefly glanced at her and blinked with his eyes. Elena could swoon immediately.

Caroline was the silence a way too long. She pocked Elena's arm to get her attention again. "E-L-E-N-A!" she said like a little child that wanted a new toy. Elena shrugged. "What?"

Caroline grinned. "Nothing. I'm sorry did I interrupt you staring at your dream lover?"

Elena laughed and she thought she sounded ridiculous. "Caroline, forget it! No chance, no way I won't say it!"

Caroline snapped with her fingers and sat almost on Elena's lap. "Aha! Say what? C'mon tell me Elena…"

Elena looked away and hoped she wouldn't blush. That Andie thing giggled again. Caroline took her hand. "Elena, you swoon, you sigh why deny it?"

Caroline moved Elena's hand to her chest. "Feel your heartbeat?" Elena nodded and wondered what Caroline was up to now. Then Caroline slowly moved Elena's head into Damon's direction. Her heart raced faster. "And? Too fast and too furious?"

Elena took her hand back. "Caroline understand, too much happened…I can't…" She glanced at Damon again and was curious if he noticed all the hidden looks she gave him.

Andie suddenly stood up and walked to the toilets.

Caroline saw her chance. She pulled Elena on her feet and pushed her towards Damon. "Go on! That girl is trying to steal your man, so do something about it!"

Elena tried to escape Caroline's grip, but since her friend was a vampire, she was much stronger than her. "Care, I can't do this. This is ridiculous!"

"You are ridiculous, Elena." Caroline hissed. "C'mon on and face it like a grown up."

Elena stared at Damon. He was ordering a new drink and made a stupid comment about Matt's haircut. She giggled quietly and her lips formed a big smile.

Caroline pushed her a little bit more forward. She was too close for her taste. "Give up; give in check the grin you're in love." Caroline whispered into her ear and pushed her almost on Damon's lap.

Damon caught her without problems and eyed her curiously. "Hello, Elena."

She giggle like a twelve year old who accidentally ran into her crush. "Hi…haha…sorry…"

Damon pulled her softly back on her feet and stroked some hair out of her face. She thought her heart would stop. "Elena, you kinda look strange. Are you drunk?"

She immediately shook her head. "Of course not!"

He almost looked disappointed. "Too bad. You're funny when you're drunk." He grinned and she wanted nothing more than to kiss him.

She didn't know what to say. Everything inside her screamed to tell him how she really feels, but a part of her was too scared to get hurt again. "So, the news lady…are you here together?" she asked and played with her hair.

Damon looked amused. "What?" He asked with a smirk.

Elena tried not to face him, but it was nearly impossible. Her glance turned always back to those gorgeous blue eyes. "I just…I was wondering…she sits next to you and stuff…is she…you know…"

Damon chuckled. "Are you asking me if she's my date?"

Elena's face fell. She felt like being caught in the middle of something stupid. She acted like a pubescent teenager. She shook her head. "No…because that is none of my business!" She knew he wouldn't buy it.

Damon tried not to laugh about her. She was acting weird for a few weeks now, but tonight topped it all. If he didn't know it better, he would certainly think she had a few drinks.

"Your aunt introduced us and we decided to talk a bit." He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "But you know that already, 'cause you're observing us the entire time."

She pulled away and blushed. "That's not true!"

Damon softly dragged her on the empty barstool next to him and began to play with her tiny fingers. "Don't worry; I like it when you're jealous. It's kinda sexy." And he did his eye thing again.

Elena tried to protest. "I'm not jealous!" Oh yes she was. "Why would I be jealous?"

Damon shrugged. "You tell me." He didn't really expect an answer, even if he wished for one.

_I won't say it…I won't say it…_Elena tried to shut the voice in her head down. But it was too loud and strong and she wasn't ready.

She stood up. "I'm not jealous. Well, maybe a bit…" She confessed much to Damon's surprise. He was caught off guard. He thought if he would even get an answer she would probably yell at him and telling him to stop flirting with her. "You are jealous?" He asked unsure now. It was just too good to be true.

Elena nodded slowly. From the corner of her eye she saw that Andie was finally returning from the bathroom. She smiled shyly. "I don't like it when you spend the evening with women." Damon raised an eyebrow and was about to say something when she kissed him softly on the cheek. "And with women I mean, every woman who is not me." She whispered and left him stunned.

Elena walked back to Caroline who watched the whole situation. "I need to get out!"

Caroline didn't understand the world anymore. She thought it went well. "Why? It looked like you finally did something!"

Elena grabbed her jacket and went to the door. "I can't do this. That was stupid; he must think I've lost my mind." She passed the door.

"Girl, don't be proud. It's okay you're in love!" Caroline shouted after her friend. Her eyes wandered back to the pool table. Tyler smiled mischievous at her and she decided to do finally something about her own strange love life.

Damon didn't move. He was slightly shocked by Elena's actions. Did she indirectly confess that she felt something for him? He touched his cheek. That couldn't be real, could it?

He stood up and laid a few dollars on the bar and decided to go after Elena. He couldn't mess his chance, probably his only chance to be with her.

"Damon?" Andie asked confused as she reached her stool. "Where are you going? I thought we could drive home together."

Damon almost forgot about Andie. "Sorry, I've got an emergency." He said with a smirk.

Andie seemed confused. "What is it?" She asked worried.

"Love Andie, it's love." With that he left her. She sipped her drink and wondered what he was talking about.

Elena walked slowly home. Her house wasn't far away from the Grill but she wished she had come by car. It was dark outside and Mystic Falls was far more dangerous than most people expect it to be.

"Wait up!" She heard a voice behind her and was surprised to see Damon. "What about your date?" She asked a bit sharply.

He slowly walked beside her. "She can go home alone. I don't care."

Elena suddenly felt very comfortable. "And why is that so?"

"Well…" he said and took her hand and placed it carefully into his, "I walk rather you home than a thousand other women."

She knew he reflected her words from earlier. She squeezed his hand. "Will you see her again?" Elena asked. She still felt a bit insecure.

He chuckled and pulled her a bit closer. "I will only go out with one woman. As long as she wants me."

Elena smiled. "I hope you get used to only _one _date. Because that one woman will never let you go again."

He smiled and his hand left hers, so he could pull his whole arm around her. She leaned into him and they walked in silence.

It wasn't a night for big confessions or special words. But they didn't need it. It was alright the way it was. Just the two of them. Together.

"_At least out loud,_

_I won't say I'm in love."_

_**The End**_


	3. No Way Out

**AN: Thank you for the great comments. I'm glad you liked jealous Elena. Haha, I just needed to bash a little about Andie. Can't stand her. So, since the last two chapters were Elena centric, this time I will focus more on Damon. I used the wonderful song "No Way Out" rom Brother Bear. I think it's just the perfect song for Damon! And I love Phil Collins XD (If you don't know the song, listen to it, it's amazing)**

**Anyways I hope you'll like it.**

**I would love to get some comments. :)**

**Dislcaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, the character, the movie "Brother Bear" or the amazing song.**

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><p><em><strong>No Way Out<strong>_

"_Everywhere I turn, I hurt someone  
>But there's nothing I can say to change<br>the things I've done  
>Of all the things I hid from you<br>I cannot hide the shame  
>And I pray someone, something will come<br>to take away the pain"_

Damon walked down the dark streets of Mystic Falls. His expression was blank. What did he do? He snapped Jeremy's neck? How could he possibly so stupid? She would never forgive him that. Never ever.

He clinched his fists and stared into the darkness. He let it consume him completely. There was no light left for him. With killing her brother he extinguished the only small flame of hope that was left. She knew he'd done horrible things. But she never knew the whole extent of what he was capable of. Not until tonight.

He couldn't understand why she wanted to be friends with him in the first place. He used Caroline. He compelled her. He drank from her. And Bonnie? He almost killed her in a moment of anger.

He threatened his brother. The brother she loved unconditionally. The brother who will always be her choice. And she knew that he never wanted them to be friends.

So why did she stay close to him? Why did she care? He laughed silently. That didn't matter anymore. After what he did she would never care again. The friendship was gone. The slight hope of love was gone. All that was left was hate and anger.

"_There's no way out of this dark place  
>No hope, no future<br>I know I can't be free  
>But I can't see another way<br>I can't face another day"_

He brought Elena home and waited outside her house until she was asleep. He couldn't believe what had happened. His brother was stuck in the tomb. His _stupid _brother was stuck in the tomb with _her_. And all because he had to play hero again and safe that dumbass of a little brother from her. And now she was blaming him.

She blamed him for not being there to prevent this from happening. From not stopping Jeremy. From not stopping Stefan. She didn't say it was his fault, but he could tell it from the look in her eyes when he held her back from entering the tomb. He searched for a slight amusement in all this mess. It was ironical. He did everything today to save her life and she was angry at him for doing so. And when Stefan risked his life to Jeremy's she wasn't angry at Stefan, no she was angry at him, for being with her instead of them. He just gave her another reason to hate him.

He sat down on a bench and played with his lapis lazuli ring. It would be so easy to just take him off and waiting for the sunlight to end this misery once and for all. He smiled sadly. It would never be an option. Whether she hated him or not, he would stay by her side to protect her. Not because he made a promise to his brother, no there was just no turning back anymore. He was into her too deep. He loved her and even if she would never love him back, he couldn't walk away. There was no hope left for him, but he accepted it. His place was in this world, at her side. And if he would die saving her, it was okay. One way or another, there was no real future left for him.

"_Tell me where, did I go wrong  
>Everyone I loved, they're all gone<br>I'd do everything so differently  
>but I can't turn back the time<br>There's no shelter from the storm  
>inside of me"<em>

He couldn't believe Rose was gone. His hands were shaking as he threw the stake into the fireplace. He watched as it slowly burned. Her blood was on his hands. Not just because he was the one who drove the stake through her heart, no it was because he was the one Jules was after. He should have died tonight, not her.

He sat on the old arm chair and reached for a bottle of scotch. Drinking was all he could do now. He closed his eyes and a brief image of Elena appeared. She was there for him. Wanted to comfort him because of his loss. He didn't want her to be there. He never wanted her to see him so broken. But somehow he could still feel her body against his. He could still feel her arms around him. He took a deep sip out of the bottle. He couldn't be close to her, because everyone he loved was dead. Sooner or later he would be the death of her, too.

He fought with his tears and asked silently for help. Why did this happen to him? What did he do wrong in his life that everyone he cared about was doomed? He did terrible things as a vampire, but it started all when he was still human.

The first one to lose was his mother. His beloved mother who was probably the only person in this world who accepted him as who he was. He was seven when she died. They were playing in the big house. They were running and laughing and she was chasing after him. Then she lost her balance and fell down the stairs. She broke her neck and he never heard her laugh again. It all happened so fast. He didn't understand it. "It was not your fault." The old nursemaid said, "It was an accident." But he didn't believe it. He never stopped blaming himself for her death.

The second person he loved deeply and lost was Katherine. First when he thought she died, then when she rejected him. He smiled bitterly. He lost her and it hurt. The sad thing was, she was never his in the first place.

After the Katherine incident he lost his brother, too. Not literally but emotionally. He blamed him for Katherine's supposed death. He hated him for forcing him to turn. He despised the fact that Katherine made him a vampire too. So his new goal was to make Stefan's life as miserable as possible. Stefan was a good guy, he always tried to reconcile with him, but Damon pushed him away. Now Stefan distrusted him. He wanted him gone. And he couldn't even blame him for that.

Then he lost Elena. He was upset and killed her brother while he was in a rage. "You have lost me forever." She told him and in that very moment, she meant it. But somehow along the way she forgave him. And even if he lost her just for a small period of time, the feeling was still there.

Now there was Rose. She was his friend. His _special _friend. But not because of the sex, just because she could understand him better than everyone he knew. She was there for him, shared his feelings of loneliness and regret and gave him a small feeling of not being alone anymore. She was gone, too. And it was all because of him. Because he needed to provoke that werewolf bitch. Rose had done nothing wrong. It was his _curse_ that killed her.

He threw the bottle away. He tried to be the better man for _her. _And still everyone he cared about was slowly slipping away. Why should he be the better man, when it changed nothing?

"_There's no way out of this dark place  
>No hope, no future<br>I know I can't be free  
>But I can't see another way<br>I can't face another day"_

He threw Jessica's lifeless body away. He still heard her screaming inside of his head. He licked his lower lip to taste the blood for a last time. He was dangerous. A _monster_. He could never be the man she wanted him to be. There was just darkness in his heart. It was too late for redemption. He was stuck in this place. He wanted to run and to get away, but there was no place to go. He was drawn to her and no matter what she did, no matter what he did. He would never be free. So he would pull on a poker face in the morning. He would smirk, he would joke and he would be there for her. Like always. He almost lost his strength to carry on, but there was no way out.

"_I can't believe the words I hear  
>It's like an answer to a prayer"<em>

"I love you, Damon." She said with a sincere and pure voice. He couldn't believe what she just said. That was impossible. He studied her face. She smiled at him and waited for him to response. "You don't love me, you love Stefan." He said softly and waited for her to acknowledge her mistake. She softly stroked his cheek. "Idiot, of course I love you. It was always you; I just wasn't ready to see that."

He was amazed by the honesty of her words. He pulled her closer until their lips finally met. It was a hesitant kiss. He was still afraid she would change her mind. But that never happened. He didn't understand what he did to deserve her. He asked her once in a while, but he got always the same answer. "I love you, because of you. There is no explanation for it."

"_When I look around I see  
>This place, this time, this friend of mine<br>I know it's hard but you  
>found somehow<br>To look into your heart and  
>to forgive me now<br>You've given me the strength to see  
>just where my journey ends<br>You've given me the strength  
>to carry on"<em>

It was still new and awkward to him being surrounded by her friend and family. _His _friends and family. He looked around. They were in the Gilbert household celebrating Thanksgiving and were hoping Jenna's food would not poison someone. He was unusually silent for his normal behavior and Elena was slightly worried.

"You okay?" She asked and squeezed his hand. He nodded and smiled at her. "I couldn't be better."

They walked into the living where Barbie was telling some stupid story about her and Tyler's road trip during the summer and he chuckled now and then. Everyone accepted him at Elena's side. Even Bonnie got along with him these days. He sometimes feared that he would wake up one morning to realize it was all just a dream. But he knew deep within it wasn't.

He volunteered to do the dishes after the dinner was finished and Elena helped him. They already collected a plenty of memories in her kitchen and he smiled as he thought about it.

"Thank you." He said softly and she eyed him curiously.

"For what?" She smiled and it was breathtaking. He never thought she would smile for him like that one day and he would always treasure it.

"For forgiving me all the bad things I've done and for being there for me. Thanks to you…I think after 145 years of searching, I'm finally home."

She ran her fingers softly through his hair. "We're exactly where we are meant to be." She whispered and kissed him softly on the lips.

"_I see the path from this dark place  
>I see my future<br>Your forgiveness has set me free  
>Oh and I can see another way<br>I can face another day!"_

The sun was shining bright; there was no cloud in sight. He was in the garden of the Boarding House and played nervously with his fingers. He looked to his left and saw Alaric smiling encouraging at him. "Everything will be fine, Damon." He said quietly.

He couldn't believe how far they had come. A few years ago he had nothing but darkness in his life, now everything was bright and warm. And just because of her. She brought back the light into his heart. Her forgiveness, her kindness and love were his remedy. She saved him from the abyss he fell into a long time ago. Now he was back on his feet, smiling at his friends and his family as he waited for her to finally come out. Even his brother was present with his new girlfriend and gave him a nod.

He nodded back and took a deep breath as the music began to play.

All eyes were on her as she walked slowly through the garden. She looked absolutely stunning. Damon never saw something more beautiful than her. Her dress was white and simple. It wasn't especially fancy or extraordinary, but it fit her. Her hair was a open and wafted softly through the light wind. She had the most gorgeous smile on her face. Her brother walked next to her and kissed her softly on the cheek as he handed her over to Damon.

Damon thought if he had a heartbeat, it would fade away now. He softly took her hand. "Hi." He whispered. She giggled softly. "Hi."

The ceremony was short, but beautiful. She cried during their vows. He was breathless and glad he even remembered his words. He couldn't wait for the priest to say is final words.

His lips formed a small "I love you" and she returned it. Then, after an eternity for him it was officially. "I now pronounce you husband and wife." The priest said and smiled at them. "You may kiss your bride." That was something he hadn't to say twice. Damon grabbed Elena around the waist and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

Everyone around them was clapping and cheering and some were even sobbing.

They turned around and walked hand in hand down the aisle. Damon could finally see his future. There was always another way, as long as she was by his side.

_**The End**_


	4. Beauty and the Beast

**AN: Thanks for your really nice comments. I can't say it enough, but feedback is the best an author can get. This time I used the wonderful song "Beauty and the Beast" and the way I'm telling the story differs from the other one shots. It's very easy written, but you will understand why. This was a little experiment for me and I really hope you'll like it.**

**I would really love to get some comments :)**

**Dsiclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, the characters or The Beauty and the Beast.**

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><p><em><strong>Beauty and the Beast<strong>_

"_Certain as the sun  
>Rising in the East<br>Tale as old as time  
>Song as old as rhyme<br>Beauty and the Beast"_

It was past midnight night in Mystic Falls and six years old Emily sat wide awake in her little bed. "Why are you up, sweetie?" Her mother asked concerned as she entered her room to dim the lights. "It's late."

Little Emily sighed and looked at her mother with big eyes. "I had a bad dream."

Her mother sat down next to her and stroked softly her cheek. "It was just a dream, honey. Nothing will harm you." She smiled at her daughter. "Try to go back to sleep."

But Emily was a stubborn kid. Much like her father. "I don't want to sleep, I'm scared!" She hugged her mother tightly. She chuckled. "What can we do about it then?"

Emily pulled away and smiled shyly. "Maybe a bedtime story?"

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you one, but you have to lie down." Emily nodded and pulled her purple blanket almost over head. Her mother lay down next to her and pulled an arm around her petit body. "What story do you like to hear? Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty? Snow White?"

Emily shook her head. "I know all of these. Tell me something new."

Her mother made a thoughtful face. It was pretty hard to come up with a new fairytale after being a mother for six years. Her repertoire was basically empty. She took a deep breath and looked around the room. She spent many nights there when she was longer. It once belonged to her best friend. Suddenly an idea came into her mind. "What about a fairytale that really happened?"

Little Emily was curious. "Okay…shoot!" The mother chuckled. "It is about a beautiful small town girl and a dangerous beast, who turns out to be an enchanted prince."

"Is it a love story?" Emily asked, because she loved nothing more than love stories, were the prince and the princess get married and lived happily ever after.

"You could say that…this story happened a long time ago…."

_Once upon a time in a little town that was called Mystic Falls, a beautiful young girl met a handsome stranger who turned out to be a vicious beast. What both of them didn't suspect, that the stars wanted them to meet._

_She was a beautiful, but simple girl. Not a princess or a noble lady. But everyone in town loved her. She had long dark hair and beautiful brown eyes. Her smile let every heart melt. She was strong and smart and always there for her friends. But in her heart she was lonely. She lost her mother and her father and all that was left were her brother and her aunt. She hid her sadness behind a smile and only cried when no one could see. _

_He was a handsome man. Black hair and deep blue eyes. So deep that you could think you look into the ocean. His smile was charming and every lady in town wanted to be the one for him. But his heart was dark and filled with hate. Inside of him was an evil beast and most of the time he didn't feel to hide it. He liked it when people got scared of him and enjoyed being a monster. But that was just one part of him. Deep within he was just as lonely as the girl._

_One fateful day the girl brought flowers to her parent's grave and met a stranger. But it was not the beast, yet. That boy was very nice and honest. His hair was spiky and brown and his eyes green as emeralds. They girl fell in love with him at the first sight. Everyone in town welcomed him with open arms and the girl thought she couldn't be happier. She finally found someone who made her see the light again. But there was still a part in her that felt lonely._

_One day when she wanted to visit the boy in his big house, she met the beast. He was the brother of the boy, but his total opposite. The girl was charmed at first, but after she discovered his true face, she was scared of him._

_He hurt people the girl cared deeply for and brought just sadness and destruction into her normally peaceful town. She hated him with all her heart and wanted him to go away and the beast felt similar towards the girl. He couldn't stand her and couldn't care less._

_One night the girl was attacked by a mysterious man. She cried for help and when finally someone showed up, she was surprised to see the beast. He helped her and made sure she would be alright. That was the beginning of an extraordinary journey. _

"You want to sleep now and I continue tomorrow?" The mother asked.

Emily shook her head wildly. "No…I want to know what happened next."

Her mother stroked her hair. "Alright, then I will continue."

_After the beast rescued the beauty she thought things between them might would change and the beast acted really different around her, bust just around her. But there was still a distance she couldn't understand, so she decided to ask the other brother why the beast was a beast._

_He then told her the sad story about the beast's transformation. He was once a young prince. Wealthy, happy and lively. Then a beautiful princess showed up on his father's doorsteps. Brown hair and brown eyes, she just looked like the girl. The beast fell in love with her and she seemed to love him back. But that was a lie, because the princess was no princess at all. She was really a wicked witch who loved nothing more than bring pain into peoples life. But the young prince couldn't see it. He was blinded by his love for her and wished to be with her forever. So she granted his wish and turned him into a monster. After he was enchanted she then left him alone and he never saw her again. That erased all kindness and love from his heart and the once so lively young man was forever captured in the body of dangerous beast._

_The girl cried when she heard the story and felt sorry for the beast. The boy couldn't see her crying and promised everything would be fine. She asked him "How?" and he responded, "Once he will find his true love, the one girl that was truly meant for him, the curse would be broken and he would turn into a prince again"_

_The girl wished for him to find his true love soon, but she was too blind to see that she was right in front of him._

_After hearing his heartbreaking story, the girl wanted to befriend the beast. None of her other friends couldn't understand her because they just saw the monster, but she started to see his real face. The man behind the mask._

_The beast was cocky and dismissive at first. He didn't trust the girl and thought she would leave him in the end, like everyone else in his life._

_But her goodness and geniuses started to melt his closed heart. He wished to be better for her. He protected her from all evil and slowly, he fell in love with her._

_He was scared and confused, because he thought he lost the ability to love when the witch broke his heart and so he tried to ignore it._

_But every time he looked into the girl's eyes, every time he saw her smile and heard her laughter it was harder for him to stay away from her._

_His brother was scared, because he loved the girl. But when he saw her together with the beast, he was not sure if she still loved him back._

_The girl was confused by her own feelings. She loved the boy, but she also felt something for the beast. But how can a pure beauty fell in love with a hideous beast?_

"But, mommy! He wasn't really a beast!" Emily interrupted. "He was just enchanted."

The mother laughed. "You are a smart girl. But I haven't finished the story, yet."

_There was a big ball planned in town and the beautiful girl and the boy wanted to attend it and dance together, but the boy got sick and the girl was left alone. She wore a beautiful blue dress and everybody kept staring at her when she entered the ballroom without an escort. Luckily the beast was there and decided to help her._

_It was a day that changed it all. As they started to dance with each other, they forgot the whole world around them. It didn't matter who was watching them and what people were saying. It didn't matter that she was the beauty and he was beast. Their eyes were melting into each other and as they finally touched, both knew they were meant to be._

_When the dance ended and they broke apart, it was like they were drawn into another world, a world that kept them apart._

_The beauty was afraid of telling the beast about her feelings, because she didn't want to hurt his brother and so she went heavy-hearted back to him._

"But this is so wrong! She loved the beast!" Emily complained.

"Honey, you should really let me tell you the rest of the story."

Emily pursed her lips. "Oookkkaayyy…."

_As the time passed by, the feelings the beast had for the girl grew stronger and stronger. Little did he know, her feelings were growing, too. One evening he confessed his love for her to his best and only friend. A young teacher who moved into town. The teacher told him to do something about his feeling, before it would be too late for him to break the curse the wicked witch casted._

_So the beast gathered all his courage and visited the girl. He was determinate to tell her all those hidden feelings for her, but when he arrived he noticed something horrible: The wicked witch had returned and was after the girl!_

"No way!" Emily squeaked in excitement.

_It was a hard time for the girl and her friends. The wicked witch wanted to kill all of them and the beast tried his best to protect his love. But he made many mistakes along the way and the girl was angry at him. _

_He thought he had lost her forever and lost all his hope to break his curse. He thought she would never see more in him than a beast._

_But he was so wrong. Even after everything he had done, after all the bad deeds in his life, she could still forgive him. She saw the man he truly was, but when she finally was ready to tell him, it was almost too late._

Emily caught her breath. She was totally into the story and her mother chuckled.

_The wicked witch kidnapped the girl and all of her friends tried to get her back, but all of them failed. So the beast decided to rescue her and she was more than happy to see him._

_He broke her out of the cold cell she was kept in and they ran away. But the wicked witch wouldn't be the wicked witch is she didn't try to stop them._

_She fired one wooden arrow at the girl and she was captured in such a shock that she couldn't move away. So the beast jumped in front of her and was shot by the arrow. He fell down on the ground and the girl screamed in fear. _

_She begged him "Don't leave me, please don't die." His breath got weaker and smiled at her. It was the first time he really genuine smiled. "Maybe it's better…it's better this way." He said and breathed heavily._

_Tears were running down her cheek. She couldn't let him go. She couldn't lose him. "Don't talk like that. You'll be alright. We're together now. Everything's going to be fine you'll see."_

_He softly stroked her cheek. "I love you." He said with his last breath and closed his eyes. She didn't want to believe he was gone. She shook his body over and over again and broke finally down and cried over his chest where his heart once was. "I love you, too." She said between her tears._

_And then a miracle happened. His eyes opened again. Up to today no one really knows what happened. If her tears healed the wounds or if her love brought him back to life._

_She couldn't believe it was really him and that she wasn't dreaming. She touched his face and searched for his eyes. They were the same ocean blue eyes she noticed when they first met and she knew it was him._

_He pulled her closer and kissed her softly on the lips. This one kiss broke the curse and he finally found his humanity again. He turned back into the prince he once was._

_And the wicked witch? She was overpowered by the love from the girl and the prince and crumbled into dust._

_The prince married the girl and they…._

"Lived happily ever after?" Emily asked cheerful.

Her mother shook her head. "Not exactly."

_They got married and started to travel around the world. They are still happy and love each other very much._

"That is a good ending." Emily said and yawned.

"So, now ready to sleep?" Her mother asked and stood up.

"I think so…but mommy…can you let the light on? Just in case."

Her mother kissed her on the forehead. "Of course. I love you, my princess."

Emily slowly closed her eyes. "Love you…too…."

The mother left silently the room and looked at her husband who leaned in the doorway, his arms crossed. He chuckled. "You changed a few parts of the story." He said amused.

They closed the door of Emily's room and walked over to their bedroom. "What did you expect me to tell her? That '_the wicked witch'_ staked him and missed his heart and that he ripped her head off? Too brutal for a six years old girl."

"You should tell the story on Christmas. I'm sure Damon would love it." He said sarcastically.

She sighed. "I'm glad they're coming home. I miss having Elena around."

"Yeah, but people would get suspicious if they realize none of them is aging." They sat down on their bed. He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Elena and Damon. The Beauty and the Beast. You should definitely tell Damon the story. His face will be hilarious."

She punched him lightly on the arm. "Shut up, Jeremy!" She laughed.

"Bonnie Gilbert are you trying to challenge me?" He started tickling her. "Stop it…stop it!"

* * *

><p>Somewhere far away from Mystic Falls in a large apartment Damon Salvatore sneezed.<p>

"Bless you." His wife said and smiled as she sat down on the couch next to him, a bowl of popcorn in her hands.

He scratched his nose. "Do you know that feeling when you think someone is talking about you?"

She leaned onto his chest. "Yes. Why?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. Just a feeling…what are watching?" He looked at the bunch of DVDs in front of the TV.

She grinned. "I wanna watch _Beauty and the Beast._"

He rolled his eyes. "Again, Elena? Really?"

She kissed him softly on the lips. "It's my favorite Disney movie and it reminds me of us."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm touched you refer to me as a beauty, but Elena you're clearly not a beast." He joked.

She threw a hand full of popcorn into his face. "Shut up, Damon!"

"_Tale as old as time  
>Song as old as rhyme<br>Beauty and the Beast"_

_**The End**_


	5. I See The Light

**AN: ****So, next on XD This time I went down the romance way. You can see it in two ways: Either hoplessly romantic or over the top cheezy XD**

**Thank you for your reviews and of course every alert and favorite. I have to confess, reviews kinda making my day. This chapter was inspired by the beautiful song "I See The Light" from "Tangled". I love, love, love this movie! I bought it a few days ago and can't stop watching, so beautiful. I used some lines from the song as a part of the dialogue, just with a few changes. And Stefan is maybe a bit OOC but I wnated him to be kinda...funny. I hope you'll enjoy it.**

**Please, review :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, the characters, the wonderful song or the movie Tangled.  
><strong>

_**I See The Light**_

"_And at last I see the light  
>And it's like the fog has lifted<br>And at last I see the light  
>And it's like the sky is new"<em>

"The thousand what festival?" Damon asked annoyed and tossed Elena's teddy bear into the air. She was busy brushing her hair and didn't look at him.

"The thousand lights festival! Its tonight an you are going with me!" She demanded.

Damon raised an eyebrow and laid the teddy aside. "And I'm going with you because….?" He wasn't really in the mood to attend another crazy town festival. It felt like there were at last two hundreds this year. And the festivals never went smooth. Founder's Day? A disaster. Tomb vampires, a crazy uncle slash father, return of the ex-bitch and not to forget he almost died. The Christmas parade? He didn't want to remember. Crazy psycho witch attack, stupid fight with Saint Stefan, parade balloons that suddenly came to live and on the top of it Jenna's horrible Christmas roast. The spring dance? Lousy. The new super couple Barbie and Bunny Eater was all lovey-dovey, Elena got kidnapped, John came home and Alaric drank all his scotch. Damon sighed. He could go on in his mind and was absolutely sure this festival would be a chaos, too.

Elena smiled as she turned to him. "You come because you are my friend and you want to prevent that something like at the summer party will happen again."

How could he forget about that? The awful summer party a month before. He was busy and didn't accompany her and what happened? An evil vampire attacked her, she almost got killed and he had to save the day. "What is this thousand lights festival?" he asked in a painful voice.

She smile satisfied. "It's at the lake in the woods. Each year on August 3rd the town meets there to let thousand lanterns fly into the sky. It looks so beautiful."

Damon sat up and mustered her. She wore a sweet white summer dress and her hair was slightly curled. After Katherine died she eventually got over the look-a-like fact and used her curling iron again. After Damon assured her a million times that she could never look like Katherine, because she was the devil in person and Elena the angel counterpart.

"Is this festival another _great _Carol Lockwood invention?" He couldn't stand that woman. She made a festival out of everything. He assumed if a tree would suddenly fall down at night, she would see another chance for a festival and call it the "Night of the Falling Tree Festival".

Elena nodded. "Yeah. It's been celebrated for ten years now. I don't know exactly why they started it, but it looks so beautiful and all those years I just saw it from my window and –"

Damon waved with his hands. "Whoa, wait a minute. In ten years you never actually attend the festival?"

Elena shook her head as Damon stared at her in disbelief. "It's like always something cropped up. The first year I had the chickenpox and was not allow to leave the house. The second year my Mom and Dad had a terrible fight right before the festival started and decided not to go. The third year I was very nasty to my parents and got grounded. The fourth –"

"Okay, okay I get it." Damon interrupted. "You never went there and I should make sure you see the lights this year…I mean not just from your window."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "That's my saying!" She left her room and walked downstairs. He touched his cheek. She always gave him quick kisses on the cheek, but they were always in a friendly way. Since her break up with Stefan a few months ago they both grew very close. He was her best friend and she was his. Except the fact he was in love with her all along and she didn't know.

He hated those town festivals, but he would go for her. He jumped outside her window and waited for her to come out of the house. It was their routine and even if Jenna was currently out of town they kept it. He spent most of his day with her, but they agreed Jenna didn't have to know that he was basically in her room all the time.

He leaned against his car and as she walked towards him he couldn't help but think how beautiful she was.

* * *

><p>The area around the lake was fulfilled with people and Damon actually wondered how many citizens Mystic Falls really had. Around the lake he noticed a bunch of lanterns, but Damon doubted it were really thousand. Carol Lockwood just liked to exaggerate things. Elena was excited like a little child. She squeezed his hand from time to time and smiled all over her face. He was glad she was happy.<p>

"Hey, brother." He turned around to see Stefan smiling at him, his bubbly chatterbox of a girlfriend next to him. Damon thought it couldn't get worse.

"Barbie, Ken…what a pleasure to see you." He said sarcastically. Elena immediately elbowed him, but he didn't even shrug.

"Hey, Stefan. Hey, Caroline." She said cheerful and hugged them both. Their relationship was a surprise to everyone, but Elena eventually came to terms with it. She and Stefan tried to be friends, but it was a long and hard way. They first needed a break up to realize how less they had in common. But Elena tried for Caroline's sake.

As the girl's chatted about something in school Damon felt more miserable. He was stuck with his brother. "Damon, I wonder why you are here. Last time you said you won't attend another town festival until the world stops spinning."

Damon didn't want to talk to Stefan, but he knew if he wouldn't answer, his brother would simply not shut up. Blondie was a bad influence after all. "I don't want risk that she gets possibly attacked by a lantern." Damon glanced briefly at Elena who laughed at something Caroline said and to him it was the most beautiful sound of the world. But they could never be together. She was finally starting to become genuinely happy again and he didn't want to ruin it, so he thought it would be best to stay friends.

Stefan chuckled. "It was pretty quiet lately. No monster of the week for almost a month now."

Damon didn't pay attention to Stefan's words. He wished Alaric would be there, but no, he and Jenna needed to extend their honeymoon for another week. So there was just Stefan left right now.

"Damon are you listening?" Stefan asked slightly worried. Damon nodded. "Sure. Whatever."

Damon glanced over to the other lakeside. It was wilder and more natural and what he especially liked, no townspeople at all. He listened with one ear to Stefan's talking. He told some story about a dinner with Sherriff Forbes and seemed to consider himself as funny now, when another thing caught Damon's attention. An old paddle boat between the reeds. He wondered if it still could be used.

"…you know then I told Liz that I don't have a pet, but that I like bunnies very much made Caroline laugh, you know because I drink animal blood and –"

Damon walked away from Stefan without saying any word. He had something more important to do then listening to his crap talk and he was close to run into the danger of killing his brother out of annoyance.

"Damon! Where are you going? I haven't finished my story!" Stefan shouted after him, obviously offended.

* * *

><p>It was getting dark and the people around her already prepared the lights. Elena couldn't wait for the festival to start. She waited for ten years to be there when the lights finally reach the sky. Tonight was the night. But something was missing. After Caroline and Stefan left her to talk to Tyler, she searched for Damon, but he was nowhere to be found. She felt frustrated and thought he got annoyed and left the place before the festival even stated. That bothered her more than she expected. She told him she needed him for her protection, but that was just half of the truth. She indeed felt safer around him, but more important was that she actually w<em>anted <em>to see the lights with him. It was an experience she always wanted to make and she wished for nothing more than having him by her side.

She sighed. She knew he didn't want to come in the first place and leaving him alone with Stefan probably only made things worse.

"Hey, kitten. Why so upset?" She shrieked as he appeared next to her. "Are you crazy? Do you want me to get a heart attack?" She slapped his arm and he chuckled.

"Sorry, Elena. I thought you noticed me." She eyed him curiously. "Where have you been? I thought you gone home…"

He shook his head. "And leaving you alone? No way, we're still waiting for the monster of the week to kidnap you." He joked. She stared at him for a moment. Not sure if she wanted to laugh about it or drown him in the lake.

He suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her with him away from the people.

"Damon, wait! Where are we going? We will miss the festival!" She tried to free herself from his grip, but she didn't stand a chance. He just grinned mischievously.

After a while Elena stopped to fight him and was only curious what he had planned. They reached the other side of the lake when he finally let go of her hand. "Here we are."

Elena narrowed her eyes. "Great, we are on the wrong side. The festival is _there_." She pointed at the other lakeshore where the townspeople got ready to spark the lanterns.

"You can see it from here, too." He acknowledged.

She put her arms in her hips. "Yes, but I can't have my own lantern and send it to the sky…" She complained, _and it's all so far away. _She added in her thoughts.

Damon ignored her complains and pulled something out of the reed. She watched him and needed to catch her breath when she realized it was a boat. "What are you up to?" She asked and felt her heart race faster.

He smiled and lifted the boat up like it was as light as a feather. He softly let in on the water and reached his hand out for Elena.

She hesitated for a moment before she placed her hand into his. "I think you deserve the best view on the lights." He whispered as he guided her slowly into the boat.

He started to paddle and they floated to the middle of the lake. They kept silently and just blinked at each other now and then.

Elena enjoyed the soft sound of the water and couldn't help but smile. It was probably the sweetest thing someone ever did for her.

She stared at the other side of the lake. It was dark and in a few minutes the lanterns would start to shine. She suddenly felt nervous. "I've waited for ten years to see how the lanterns fly into the sky, what if it's not as great and magical as I always imagined it?"

He smiled encouragingly at her. "I'm sure it will be."

She briefly smiled back and stared into the deep, almost black water. She slid one finger over the water surface and painted small circles. Suddenly there was a glimpse of light in the water. Elena immediately looked up. It was a reflection of the first lantern. She bit her lip as she watched it flying slowly into the sky. It looked so beautiful, like a star on his way home.

She moved forward to the end of the boat to be closer to the lights. She slowly stood up and the whole boat was shaking, but she didn't care. Her heartbeat was unbelievably fast now. Suddenly more and more lanterns were following the first one. It was like the night suddenly turned into the day again. A beautiful bright day. The lights were flying directly into Elena's direction and if they weren't so high in the sky she could touch them. She tried to reach for one lantern which was only a few meters over her head, but she couldn't get it. She sat down again. She loved to watch the lights, but she wished to have at least one, too.

Suddenly she realized a glowing beside her and as she turned around she saw Damon, holding two shining lanterns in his hands. Elena smiled happily. The light was so bright and warm it touched her heart. Her gaze wandered from the lanterns to Damon's eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes that never left her no matter what happened. And suddenly Elena realized it wasn't the light of the lanterns that touched her heart; it was his light that surrounded her. He was there whenever she needed him. He was her protector, her shoulder to cry on and her friend.

"Where do you get these from?" She asked with amazement.

"Let's just say I borrowed them." He smirked and handed her one.

She stared at the reflection of the light in his eyes and was lost for a moment. The man in front of her wasn't her protector or her shoulder to cry on or even her friend. No, for the first time Elena really saw the light and it was like a big fog was lifted. The man in front of her, he was _everything_.

"Okay…" he started, "One, two….and three." And they let the lights fly into the sky. Elena watched them flying higher and higher and to her surprise they still stayed together. Like they were meant to be.

She glanced back at Damon who kept staring at her. She looked so beautiful with all those lights around her. He never saw something more angelic.

They were surrounded by lights now. All around them were lanterns and the water looked golden. They were floating in an ocean of light.

He forgot everything that held him back before; all good intentions were simply blown away as he reached out for her hands. He softly stroked them, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Damon…" Elena almost whispered. "I dreamed for a long time to see those lights and now I'm here, never even knowing just how blind I've been." The sudden realization hit her like a thousand of volts.

He didn't know what she was going to say, but rather it was good or bad, the only thing that mattered to him was to be with her in this very moment. She was shining in the starlight and he wished to keep that picture forever in his mind. "Elena, I…lived years chasing down a daydream. All those years I lived in a blur. All the time I never truly saw the things the way they were and know everything seems so crystal clear that I think I can never go back." He said the last words so quietly, she almost couldn't hear them. But she did and she understood he felt the same way she did.

She softly pressed one finger on his lips. "Then don't go back." She said and looked a bit shy. "All at once, everything looks different, now that I see you…really see you."

He softly stroked a flick of hair behind her ear. He slowly moved towards her. Their faces were just inches apart. He put one hand behind of the back of her head and pulled her closer to him. She closed her eyes waiting for their lips to finally meet.

As he softly started kissing her it felt like magic. It was one of those first kisses you only know from fairytales. Soft and sweet and filled with adoration and love.

The lanterns were dancing around them, flying into the night sky. The light was slowly fading away. For Damon and Elena it just started to shine.

_**The End**_


	6. Once Upon A Dream

**AN: Thanks for the nice feedback. This time I went back to a very classical Disney movie, Sleeping Beauty. I always loved that movie, Maleficent is the best disney villian ever XD I used the song "Once Upon A Dream" and I have to confess I'm really not that happy about this chapter. It could have been better...I don't know. Let me know what you think.**

**I'd love to get some reviews. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, the characters, the movie Sleeping Beauty and or the song I used.  
><strong>

_**Once Upon a Dream**_

"_I know you  
>I walked with you once upon a dream.<br>I know you  
>The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam"<em>

It was spring time in Mystic Falls and everything was lighten up and warm again. After Katherine was locked up in the tomb, where she should have been from the beginning, life was getting back to normal for Elena. As far as normal life could be with vampires, witches and werewolves around. She sighed. After the Katherine incident she and Stefan weren't just the same. They fought a lot. They didn't talk much. Elena wondered what went so wrong along the way. Maybe it was him, caring a little bit too much for Katherine, for Elena's liking. Or it was her, being around Damon too often for Stefan's liking. She loved Stefan and a part of her would probably always love him, but she wasn't so sure if they were really meant to be. There were so many things between them and she was exhausted fighting over the same topics over and over again. Stefan's favorite topic was obviously Damon. She hated it how Stefan always made Damon the bad guy, even if he did nothing but saving Elena from every evil vampire attack recently. She sighed again and opened her closet. She was searching for some old stuff, because Carol Lockwood decided to have a flea market through the whole town to 'celebrate the spirit of the spring cleaning'. Elena wasn't really in the mood for that. She had other things to worry about, namely Stefan. But Jenna insisted her to help, because that's what her mother would have wanted. Sometimes Elena hated Jenna for playing the Mom card.

She fished disinterest something out of her closet and smiled. It was her old favorite doll, she got when she was only three years old. Her dad brought her on a trip from New York and she called her Betty. When Betty was new she had beautiful yellow hair and blue eyes, now she was dusty and one eye was missing. Elena thought she looked kinda creepy now. She laid her back into the closet and decided to keep her anyways. No one would buy a one eyed doll.

She fished something else out and raised an eyebrow. It was a red toy car and it was certainly not hers. _It must be Jeremy's. Maybe he accidentally put it into one of my boxes. _She looked around like she could get caught by someone and put it silently into the box for the flea market. Jeremy wouldn't miss it and she hated it give things away.

Elena suddenly saw something that caught her attention. Deep buried under a few doll clothes was an old book. She quickly pulled it outside and shook her head. "No way…" she said astonished and sat down on her bed. The book looked really pretty. The cover was painted with pink and purple flowers and it had beautiful ornateness on it. She slowly opened it and smiled at the scrawly handwriting on the front page.

_This book belongs to Elena Gilbert._

It was her first diary and her Dad gave it to her on her seventh birthday when she learned how to write. She was nervous what her seven years old self wrote all those years ago. "Probably nothing about vampire boyfriends and creepy doppelganger's…" she mumbled.

She skipped a few pages, because she couldn't read her own writing. Elena hoped no one would ever see the book. Her bad handwriting embarrassed her.

Finally she found an entry she could read.

_July 14__th__ 1999_

_Dear Diary,_

_You never guess what happened today! But I will tell you anyways. Jeremy almost ate a frog! A real green froggy frog. Bäh! That is so disgusting! We were outside in the garden and then the frog came along. We tried to catch him and when we finally got him Bonnie decided we would keep him as our pet. We called him Mr. Frog. He was sooo cool. I remembered the fairytale of the Frog Prince and that our Mr. Frog could possibly be a real prince, too. But I didn't want to kiss him. I don't like kissing frogs. And Bonnie didn't want to, too. So we asked Caroline, because she would be perfect. She always wanted to be a princess and now she could have a prince and marry him. But sadly Caroline doesn't like frogs. When we showed her Mr. Frog she screamed and ran away. I don't understand that. He is a nice frog._

_Jeremy was listening to us and then he wanted to kiss the frog. Stupid little brother! Only a girl can turn him into a prince!_

_But he did it…but that wasn't a kiss. He almost swallowed him. Dad was so angry when he caught him and yelled at Jeremy for over an hour. Well, Jeremy started to cry and Mom was angry at Dad, because it wasn't Jeremy's fault since he is just a kid. Dad later played soccer with Jeremy so he was not crying anymore._

Elena smile at the memory. She suddenly remembered it like it was yesterday. She giggled quietly. Jeremy really almost swallowed the frog and her Dad needed to rescue the poor animal and made sure Jeremy wasn't poisoned. They never saw it again. Elena decided to ask Jeremy about it. Maybe he remembered the day too. It was a happy memory and it seemed like an eternity to Elena since she last saw her parents. She shook her head. She didn't want to be sad. Not on a beautiful day like that. She searched for another interesting entry when she found something really odd.

_August 25__th__, 1999_

_Dear Diary,_

_I had a strange dream tonight. It was a good dream, but so real. I thought I was really there. I was in a forest and it was very pretty. Beautiful big trees and a lot of animals. Bunnies and squirrels and even an owl. I like owls a lot. I was walking through the forest and the sun was shining. Always a good thing if you ask me. If it's raining in your dream it's always a bad one. I suddenly heard some music and it sounded so pretty. Like in one of those old movies Mom likes to watch. Suddenly I wore a beautiful red dress and a prince came along. He was very handsome. Psst, don't tell Dad, he thinks seven is not an age to think about boys. The prince had black hair and blue eyes, like the ocean when the sun is shining on it. He was taller than me and looked older, but he was a prince so I said 'Hi' to him. He smiled at me and he had such a nice smile. I usually don't like it when boys smile. At least not the boys from my class they are all stupid, except for Matty Donovan, I like him, but don't tell him._

_The prince asked me if I hear the music and I nodded. His voice was so soft; it was like he doesn't speak all. I can't say what I mean because I think that is something only grown-ups understand. _

_He then asked me to dance, but I can't dance. Caroline tried to teach me, but I was terrible. I told him and hoped he would not go away, but he just kept smiling. He was really beautiful. He then lifted me up and suddenly I stood on his feet. He started to dance with him, I guess it's called a waltz, and I think I blushed. "You're not the worst company in the world, Elena." He said and then I woke up. That was a strange dream, but it was just dream, wasn't it?_

Elena threw the diary away. She looked straightforward and breathed heavily. _That is not real. It's a bad joke. A really bad joke. _But she knew it wasn't. But how was that possible? She was seven years old and dreamed about him. _Him. Damon. _She stood up and walked through her room. Her hands were shaky and her face was suddenly pale. She dreamed about Damon. If it just had been the physical appearance of the 'prince' it could have been a coincidence. Even if it would have been a strange one. But the words! The words were the same he said to her on their way home from Atlanta. "How is that even possible?"

She picked the diary up and read the lines again. There was no doubt she really wrote this. She panicked inside. That meant something, it just had to. She recalled a talk with Bonnie about visions that show people what the future may hold for them, but why did she see Damon? She was with Stefan. She loved Stefan. Did she?

Her heart was beating faster. She doubted it. She doubted her love for Stefan and not because of the diary entry; no she did all the time lately. She had feelings for Damon, but she knew if she acted on them, Stefan would get hurt. She just couldn't hurt him. _But…the dream meant something. What if I Stefan and I never were meant to be…what if…_She tried to banish that thought from her mind. That was impossible. She sat down on her bed again and stared at the ceiling. It was impossible. She jumped back on her feet and grabbed her car keys. Maybe it wasn't impossible.

She drove to the Boarding House and hoped Damon would be home. She needed to face him and since she was absolutely sure Stefan was out hunting it was the perfect timing.

She thought her heart would jump out of her chest when she reached the door. She knocked carefully and took a deep breath. Suddenly she wished Damon wasn't home. _What should I say to him? I dreamed about you when I was seven, let's get married? _She bit her lip.

The door opened and she looked into Damon's ocean blue eyes. The ones she described from her dream. His lips formed his trademark smirk as he looked at her. "Hello, Elena. What can I do for you? If you search for Saint Stefan I have to disappoint you. He is slaughtering the squirrel population." Damon waited for her to snap at him and roll her eyes, but she seemed somehow off the hook. Nervous and scared. "Elena?" He asked with more concern in his voice now.

"I know you!" She pointed out and Damon raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…for over a year now. But I'm glad you acknowledge that." He stared at her like she completely lost her mind.

Elena knew it was now or never. "No, no, no! I knew you before we met!" She sounded almost desperately.

Damon scratched his head and thought about calling an ambulance. She acted really weird. "If you mean the creepy stalking act on the cemetery, I apologize. But you have to admit the fog and the crow were pretty cool." He did his eye thing and she almost forgot why she was there. She shook her head wildly and dragged Damon inside with her. She walked through the living room and connected her IPod with the stereo. Damon eyed her curiously. "Kitten, what are you doing? Did you hit your head?"

Elena ignored him and searched for a song. It was a beautiful melody with very soft and quiet chimes. She turned around and reached her hand out for Damon, a smile covered her lips. "Dance with me." She said.

"You really hit you head." He said worried and stared at her hand. "Damon, please dance with me." She said and knew, to him she sounded ridiculously. Damon hesitated before he finally placed his hand in hers. She shivered by his touch and wished he would never let go of her.

"Dance with me." She whispered again and he slowly lay his arm around her waist. He didn't know why he was doing it. He just couldn't resist her. She softly placed her hand on his shoulders and they started to move. Elena stared into his eyes and was surprised to see a small smile on his lips.

"Ouch." He said. Elena realized she just trampled on his foot. "Sorry." She said shyly. After all these years, she still was a failure in social dance.

"Oh, princess…" He said softly and lifted her up to put her on his feet. "I think its better this way." Elena blushed as he slowly moved them around. She leaned her head on his chest and enjoyed the moment. "I think we met before. In a dream." She almost whispered.

He softly stroked her hair. "Maybe." He paused a moment before he spoke again. "I meet you every night in my dreams, Elena."

She looked up and directly into his eyes. Suddenly she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. He leaned forward and she just waited for him to kiss her.

"What's going on?" They both broke apart when Stefan appeared in the doorway. Elena didn't know what to say.

"I teach her some dance moves for the upcoming prom." Damon lied and Elena was relieved. "Little Miss Clumsy is like a bull in a china shop."

Stefan narrowed his eyes. Both, Damon and Elena knew he wouldn't buy the lie, but to their surprise Stefan didn't start a fight again. "Whatever." He said and kissed Elena on the cheek.

"Are you hungry? We can meet up with Caroline and Matt at the Grill." He said and smiled.

Elena nodded slowly. "Sure. That would be fun."

He glanced briefly at Damon before he walked out. "I'm waiting in the car."

Elena was sure Stefan was hurt and wanted an explanation and she knew she should feel guilty that he basically walked in on them, but she didn't.

Suddenly she felt Damon's grip around her waist from behind. He pulled her closer and hummed the melody of their dance into her ear. She smiled. "See you later in your dreams." He said and disappeared.

Elena walked outside and went to Stefan's car. She would talk to him and after she did, they wouldn't need dreams to dance again.

"_You'll love me at once  
>the way you did once upon a dream"<em>

_**The End**_


	7. For The First Time

**AN: Thanks for your great reviews. I'm glad you liked the last one shot, even if I wasn't satisfied. So a few things about this one. I didn't use exactly a song from a Disney Movie, but instead from a Disney Musical...it's almost the same XD I chose the wonderful and inspiring song "For The First Time" from the musical adaption of Disney's Tarzan, which is btw one of the greatest musicals ever (along with Wicked). The show is specatular, the songs are amazing and the story is funny, touching and exciting at the same time. I really love that song (I slightly prefer the German version, though). Again I used some phrases from the song with slight changes.  
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**This chapter is a bit experimental again, because it basically just tells Elena's and Damon's feelings towards each other from both POVs.**

**For this, Damon is written in cursive. **

**Kat: I'm really sorry, but I won't continue "Once Upon A Dream." The one shots will all jut stand alone. I hope you still like the other ones.**

**I'd love to get some reviews :)  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, the characters, the wonderful song or the musical Tarzan.**

_**For The First Time**_

"_So for the first time  
>Can this be love?<br>Oh for the first time  
>I know it's real"<em>

When Matt and I first got together I thought it was love. He was my best friend for a long time and then the first guy I've ever dated. I never thought anything could keep us apart and that the first love will remain forever. Well, forever was really short. After my parents died I wasn't the same girl he knew and fell in love with anymore and it hurt him to see the "new me". So I made a decision for both of us and broke up with him.

When I met Stefan I realized that what Matt and I shared wasn't love. It was a crush, a puppy love and nothing more. Stefan made me see the light again after I fell deep into the abyss I created. At least a bit. He was sweet and kind and just too good to be true. Maybe that was the problem from the beginning. Even after I discovered what he is, I thought he was too good for me. I thought he was my real first love.

But nowadays I keep thinking. Stefan and I never really shared a relationship _alone. _Well, maybe the first few days after we met, but that changed after I visited the Boarding House for the first time. The moment the door opened and I looked into the mesmerizing electric blue eyes of the _one Damon Salvatore _my world was turning upside down. Stefan and I were the couple, but there was always Damon. Sneaky, sarcastic and self-absorbed Damon.

I found him likeable. I hated him. I started to grow on him. I liked him. I felt something more than friendship for him. I hated him again. I liked him again. I started to feel more for him again. It had always been like a rollercoaster ride with us. Now, I can't even say what I feel anymore.

This affection I feel for him his hard to understand. I see him and my heart skips beat. It's not the way I planned things to happen. It should have been Stefan, but it is not anymore. Maybe it wasn't from the beginning. My whole world seems to change. Wherever I turn it's his face I see, even if I close my eyes. And I feel like I can't disguise it any longer.

The strange thing is, with Stefan everything felt always like a dream. A beautiful dream you never wanted to wake up from, but still a dream. Having Damon around feels real. Everything he does, everything he says and even when is not doing anything at all makes my heart ache for more. I consume every minute I spend with him. Don't want to miss anything. And those little lucid moments when he touches me, takes my hand or strokes my cheek, I know that I never felt this way before.

So here I am feeling things I've never felt and all because of him my world is changing.

_That woman makes me crazy. One time she is angry at me for doing something "not so nice", well mostly because I don't do nice, and then she suddenly changes her mind and wants to be BFF. She wants me to be the "better man" and I know I've changed since I met her. Her stupid never ending speeches about the good in my nature, her kindness and trust touched something that was buried deep inside of me. A side that was hidden behind the face of a killer. I don't want to kill anymore, unless it is necessary. I was good living my life as an undead person. Killing, drinking from innocent girls and making Saint Stefan's life as miserable as possible, but NO she had to come along. I was curious when I first saw her. She looked and talked exactly like that damn bitch from hell. Stefan was head over heels in love with her. Two good points to get to know her and possibly drain her out of blood. Haha. Yeah, bad move I guess. I got to know her better. She was nothing like Katherine. Her personality was the exact opposite and even after the many bad things I've done, she sorta started to like me. I seriously thought that woman was suicidal when she first said I was her friend. But she wasn't the dumb one in our so-called relationship. It was me, because I fell in love with her. But, hey I can't help. She turns my whole world upside down._

Lately I feel like a little girl again who tries to impress her crush. Whenever he appears I start to talk louder, giggle or do something just to get his attention. Everything that I do, I do to catch his eyes. Those damn beautiful blue eyes. Of course he notices and makes flirty comments and of course I argue with him about it. That's just the way we work.

The problem is he is not the only one noticing my strange behavior. Bonnie does and Caroline and Jeremy and Jenna and I guess even Stefan. When they ask me if I act that way because of him I can't even deny it anymore. Sure, I don't exactly scream out "YES!", but I don't say anything against it, either. I feel guilty about it in some way.

_She is acting strange towards me. She giggles a lot, talks nonsense and I catch her staring at me more than often. We've been through a lot and I rescued her more times than I can count. Our relationship was strained a while. She claimed I had lost her and I deserved it, because I killed her brother. Okay, I have to say he came back to life. But still I deserved it. We worked it out and got back on friendship terms. Well she got back to be being friends with me and I started to lover her more each day, kinda the same, huh? Something changed. She is different. We are different and even if I would never ever consider this to happen I wonder if she feels the same. _

This affection I feel for him has clearly gotten the better of me. I was depressed and withdrawn into myself after the accident and "old Elena" died. I used to be fun. I used to be outgoing, witty and adventurous. But after everything that happened I thought I would never be this Elena again. Well, I was wrong. Meeting Damon resurrected the "old Elena" or rather the "real Elena" again. With him I can be everything I used to be and even better. I have the feeling I can breathe without pressure, I can be me without fearing to disappoint his expectations.

_This affection I feel for her has gotten the better of me. After I turned I shut every emotion off. I was a vampire and lived for my instincts. I didn't care for people. I hurt and killed and had fun doing so. She brought the humanity back. I don't even know how she did it. It just happened and it sucks. I care for the damn Barbie Girl, I like baby Gilbert and even the witch is not THAT bad anymore. Of course I would never tell any of them that I actually kinda like them. But that's the difference with Elena. I have no problem showing her I care. Not anymore. I talk to her a lot. About my past, about my feelings and about things not even Stefan knows. When I'm with her, I don't need to be Damon the bad ass vampire anymore. I can be Damon the vampire who still carries a human soul._

Matt wasn't my first love. Stefan was close, but he wasn't, either. Looking at Damon I ask myself one question: For the first time, can this be love?

_I thought I loved Katherine. I searched 145 years for that bitch believing it was love, when it was nothing more than a poor obsession and the sad wish for real love. Looking at Elena I ask myself one question: For the first time, can this be love?_

For the first time I know it's real. What I feel is completely different from everything I felt before. It's painful and consuming and breathtaking. Just real.

_For the first time I know it's real. It's scary, and normally I don't do scared, and it's unpredictable and intoxicating. Just real._

And with him I feel so completely. I never really believed in soul mates, but I guess I have to reconsider that. With him I feel like a part of me that was always missing is finally where it belongs.

_Sounds strange but with her I feel complete. All my life and I live for a long time now, I was searching for something more. Whenever I near her, I feel like I finally found it._

I now I am _her _doppelganger. And I know there were a _plenty _of other women before me, but still I feel uniquely like no other to him.

But still there is this part of me that tries to deny. That warns me not go too far and stops before I fall so hard that I can probably never get back on my feet again.

_I honestly never thought that this would happen to me. That I would be drawn to a woman like that. Sometimes I want to run away from it and start to be the cruel monster again. Without feelings._

But even with the doubts still in a corner of my mind there all these emotions racing through me tell me I must, tell me I can finally fall and give in.

_I could never run away from her. It surprises me that I'm even able to feel that much. Not even when I was human I had so deep feelings for someone._

I think I'm finally finding who I am through him. The person I want to be. And isn't this what true love is all about? You can find yourself and be just who you are and the other person accepts and loves you no matter what.

_I think I'm finally finding who I am. When I was human I was the rebel of our family. When I turned I was a vicious killer machine. But I never really knew who I really was. The person that had been inside. She shows it to me, every day. Isn't that what true love should be all about? You can be yourself with all the idiosyncrasies and quirks and the other person still accepts and loves you?_

For the first time I'm actually sure about what I truly want.

_All the things she does making me wanting her more each day._

For the first time I really understand what's going on. I see what I should have seen months ago; when I told him it would always be Stefan. There was never another option for me, nor there ever will be one. No matter what decisions in my life I will make, I will always end up on his doorsteps.

_For the first time I really try to understand. I try to understand what's going on in her head and what she wants. Is it him or is it me? I have a slight hope that maybe after an eternity of rejection I can get some piece of happiness. But it's just a hope._

Yes, for the first time I realize that all the things that really matter are happening to me every time I'm with that man.

_Yes, for the first time I realize that all the things that really matter are happening to me every time I'm with her._

I want him. I want him to want me and I want him to love me, because every time I'm with that man (and I say man not vampire, because that's what I see) I feel the spark, the sensation and the fireworks.

_I want her. I want her to want me and I want her to love me. I wish I could be that man (I say man not vampire, because that's what I want her to see) that makes her feel the sparks, the sensation and the fireworks._

'Cause for the first time I really love.

'_Cause for the first time I really love._

_**The End**_


	8. True Love's Kiss

**AN: Hello there. Thanks for the nice reviews on my last chapter. I'm glad you liked it. Well, I'm sorry I cannot update so fast at the moment, but first I was just busy working and now I'm suffering from a really bad bronchitis. So, if that chapter is maybe not that good, blame it on the meds XD**

**I chose the song "True Love's Kiss" from the wonderful movie "Enchanted" sung by awesome Amy Adams and James Marsden. This chapter tunred out a little bit different than I original planned it, but I hope you'll like it anyways. Sorry for all Stefan fans that I'm not treating him so nice here, but Stefan just totally pissed me off in the last episode (which was amazing, btw) and I felt like slapping him. So, sorry if the Stefan fans may don't like it.**

**I would love to get some reviews :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, the song or the movie "Enchanted".  
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_**True Love's Kiss**_

"_I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss  
>And a prince I'm hoping comes with this<br>That's what brings everaftering so happy"_

It was in the middle of the night in Mystic Falls and Elena was deep asleep. She breathed heavily and her face looked strained. She struggled and floundered and from time to time she started to sob. "No…no…" she whispered and tears started to run down her cheeks. She hammered on her bed. "NO!" she screamed.

Suddenly someone pulled her up. "Elena…Elena wake up!" A familiar voice called her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked into the worried face of Damon Salvatore.

"Damon…" she said quietly and looked at him like she had seen a ghost. "Damon!" she exclaimed in a high pitched voice and hugged him deeply. Damon was surprised, but he slowly put his arms around her and patted her back. "Hey…it's okay…. " He felt helpless, because he didn't understand what was going on.

Elena slowly pulled away. "What are you doing here, Damon?" She asked confused. She was so happy to see him that she completely ignored the fact that he was in her room.

Damon chuckled. "I heard you screaming and I wanted to check on you." He explained innocently. Elena raised an eyebrow. "You heard me screaming…from here to the Boarding House?"

Damon shook his head. "No, I was with your brother. I just brought him home." He said and it confused Elena even more. "Why were you with Jeremy and why is Jeremy home so late?"

"Well…" Damon started and tried to hide a smile, "Looks like he had a little too much fun with Lockwood Junior and a bottle of whiskey."

Elena's eyes widened. "He got drunk with Tyler Lockwood?" She asked in disbelief.

Damon nodded and didn't understand why she was so surprised. "He called me and asked me to pick him up. He obviously didn't want to bother you and Jenna would be mad."

"Why did he call you and not anyone else?" For Damon it seemed almost natural that Jeremy called him, for Elena it was strange. Damon shrugged. "You may haven't notice, kitten, but your baby bro and I are getting along pretty good and he thought I would understand him. And I do. He's asleep now."

Elena laughed lightly. She was happy that Jeremy somehow found a friend and someone to look up to in Damon. Even if it was _Damon at all. _

Damon stroked some hair out of her face. "Did you have a nightmare?" He asked concerned and Elena just nodded. "You wanna tell me about it?"

She hesitated for a moment before she lay down again. She slid aside so that Damon could lie down next to her. He narrowed his eyes and was obviously surprised by her gesture. He then followed her and put and arm around her. Elena felt utterly comfortable, even if she shouldn't. Damon was her friend and her boyfriend's brother, but lately, she realized that there was something more between them. Sure, there was always a connection, but she finally started to accept that the connection was _something more_.

"I was in school, but the halls were empty. I searched everywhere, but I was the only one. Then I went to my History Class room and…when I opened it I found them.." She paused a moment and fought with her tears. "There were Bonnie and Alaric…covered with blood. They were dead…and there was Caroline, too. A stake driven through her heart. I tried to move them, but I couldn't. Suddenly I heard this voice. It was ice cold and dark and I started to run. I ran and ran and ran and somehow I got home. I opened the door and screamed for Jenna and Jeremy, but they didn't answer. So I went to the kitchen and both were…both were stabbed." Tears were running down her cheek and Damon pulled her closer. He listened quietly. "Then I heard that voice again, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. I ran again this time to the Boarding House. I found Stefan…but he was staked, too. Then I screamed for you and you just didn't answer and I thought I had lost you too…" She cried onto his chest and he wanted nothing more than to make her feel better, but one thing surprised him, she cried harder when she told him she thought she lost him, than when she told him Stefan was killed. He shook his head. _It means nothing. _"I finally found you…" she continued, "but you weren't alone. There was a figure right behind you. I couldn't see his face, he had a stake in his hand and I tried to warn you, but my voice was broken. And he…he killed you in front of my eyes…" Damon softly kissed her forehead. "Shh…it's okay Sweetheart. It was just a nightmare. A dream."

Elena looked up and was immediately lost in his blue eyes. There was so much concern and safety in them that she started to feel better. "I have this dream for a few weeks now and it's getting worse. I think I'm just afraid what will happen if Klaus shows up."

Damon clinched his fists. "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen. We –"

Elena pressed her finger on his lips. "Can we please not talk about it?" She interrupted him.

Damon nodded. "Okay…you should probably try to sleep again." He stood up but Elena pulled him back into her bed. "Can you please stay…just stay and talk to me until I'm asleep."

Damon smiled gently and touched her cheek. "What do you want me to talk about? You know I'm an awesome storyteller."

Elena giggled. "Tell me something about you." She said and snuggled at his chest. Damon scratched the back of his head. He usually didn't like it to speak about personal stuff, but one look into her eyes and he was whipped. She looked like a little child who was waiting for her favorite bedtime story. "I was eleven or twelve and it was a really hot summer. I went to the big lake near our house and took Stefan with me. He was about five then. I always loved to swim and I decided to teach Stefan how to swim, too. Well…let's say it wasn't that easy." Elena smiled, Damon was so easygoing when he talked about the happy memories about his childhood. "Stefan was afraid of everything. And with everything I mean _everything. _He thought the small fishes in the lake could bite him and he had a phobia of tadpoles!"

"No way!" Elena said amused and imagined Stefan being afraid of small tadpoles. "Oh yes he was. There were actually many things Stefan was afraid of, you should ask him about it…" Damon continued to tell her stories about Stefan's and his past all night and Elena was glad he did. Stefan barley told her a_nything _at all. Elena finally fell asleep about eight in the morning. Damon kissed her cheek and disappeared through her window.

He landed on the hard street and looked up at her window. A soft smile covered his lips. Nights like this reminded him why he stayed in Mystic Falls for so long. "What are you doing here?" His brother's voice brought him back to reality.

Stefan didn't look happy to see Damon in front of Elena's window and he made no secret out of it. Damon's smile was replaced by his usual cocky smirk. "Oh Steffy, don't brood. I was just spending the night with your girlfriend."

Stefan's face fell immediately. "What did you do to her?" He asked angry.

Damon crossed his arms. "Relax, I just accompanied her. She couldn't sleep because of her nightmare. I was with Jeremy and I waited for her to sleep."

Stefan raised an eyebrow. Somehow he didn't believe his brother. "You should have called me. I am _her boyfriend. _If she needs someone, it should be me."

Damon chuckled. "It's not on me to call you. Talk to her about it. I'm going home."

* * *

><p>Elena slept in the Boarding House when she had the nightmare again. She didn't scream this time, but her eyes were all wet. She sat up and shivered. The creepy voice from her nightmare haunted her. She looked at Stefan who slept peacefully next to her. He didn't even notice that she was awake. She slowly went out of the bed and left the room. She wanted to get something to drink from the kitchen, but somehow she ended up in front of Damon's room. She hesitated to reach for the door. She felt completely ridiculous going to him, when Stefan was directly next to her, but again there was this safety she only felt with Damon. She slowly opened the door and her heart started to race faster. She knew she shouldn't like the way he made her feel, but she did.<p>

Damon lay on his bed, only dressed in his black boxers and was reading a book. He looked up and glanced surprised at her. "Elena? What are you doing here?" He asked.

Elena smiled and walked over to him. She sat down on the edge of his bed and grabbed for the book. "How many times did you read _Gone with the Wind?_"

Damon slid aside, like Elena did a few nights before, so she could lie down next to him. She leaned onto his chest and gave the book back to him. "Did you ever read it?"

Elena shook her head. "No, I only saw the movie. I'm a big fan of Viviane Leigh." She confessed.

Damon stroked her arm. "The book is much better." He said and Elena looked up to him. "Can you read a bit to me?"

She didn't need to say that she just had another nightmare and he didn't need to ask. It was a natural understanding between them. Damon opened the first page of the book and started to read. Elena liked how soft his voice sounded while he was reading and she could see each scene in front of her eyes. Damon enjoyed having her so close again. Strange as it seemed, but for both of them, it felt like it was supposed to be that way.

Damon woke up early in the morning and left carefully the room. He didn't want to wake Elena, who seemed to sleep without having a nightmare.

He walked downstairs and made some coffee for her. Stefan was up already and sat on the sofa. He stared straightforward and looked even more brooding than usual. "Have you seen Elena?" He asked not looking up.

"Nope. You should try the bathroom." Damon lied and Stefan knew he did. He knew she was in his room and he couldn't understand why. He guessed she probably had another nightmare and didn't want to wake him. But why did she turn to Damon instead? It should be him she wanted to talk to.

* * *

><p>Stefan pulled Elena closer. They were dancing and he enjoyed the intimate togetherness they hadn't shared for a long time now. "I love you." He whispered into her hear as the jazzy sound of the 20's played in the background. Elena looked up and tried to smile. Her eyes were covered with black circles. She hadn't slept during the last days, because her nightmares were getting worse. She wished for Klaus to finally show up, so it would be finally over. Stefan thought she would enjoy the 1920's Dance, but to her it was just another High School event. "I love you, too." She replied, but it didn't felt right.<p>

Stefan stopped as someone tipped him on the shoulder. "May I cut in?" Damon asked with a smirk on his face. Stefan rolled his eyes. "No, Damon. Not now, Elena and I are –"

Elena pulled away from Stefan and grabbed Damon's hand. "I would love to." She said and smiled, this time it wasn't forced.

She gave Stefan an apologetic look. "Just one dance and I'll be right back."

Stefan nodded obviously offended and stepped aside. He watched Elena and Damon starting there dance and it looked so easy and natural to him, he almost couldn't bear to watch them.

"You should do something about your nightmares." Damon whispered as he slowly turned Elena around. "You don't look so good."

Elena chuckled. "That's what a girl likes to hear." She said and raised an eyebrow.

Damon did the eye-thing she secretly loved so much. "C'mon kitten, you know I think you're beautiful, but you are even prettier when you look healthy and not like the Bride of Frankenstein."

Elena slapped him lightly on the arm. "Damon! I don't look like a zombie!" She complained.

Damon made a funny face and pulled her closer. "Not zombie, Elena. Frankenstein wasn't a zombie. Zombies are more like…well…"

Elena laughed at Damon's ingenuities about zombies and monsters and old black and white movies. She could listen to him all day.

Stefan doubled his fists. Elena was so relieved and happy. He wanted to use the dance to distract her from her worries and nightmares, but it wasn't him who made her feel better. It was Damon. _But it should be me, _he thought.

* * *

><p>Elena sat on Bonnie's couch and was surrounded by candles. Her friend sat in front of her and looked pretty nervous. "You're absolutely sure you wanna do this?" Bonnie asked and gazed quickly at Emily's Grimoire on the table. "I've never done a spell like this before."<p>

Elena smiled and took Bonnie's hands. "I'm sure. I need these nightmares to stop and maybe magic will help." She was positive that Bonnie could handle the spell and that she could finally sleep again. "I need to figure out some very important things and I…need a clear mind for this." Elena sounded almost desperate and Bonnie nodded slowly. "Alright then." She said and closed her eyes.

She concentrated on the energy that streamed through Elena's body. She started to mumble something in Latin and hoped her nose wouldn't start to bleed again.

Elena felt good. A warm feeling ran through her body and she started to see pictures. First she saw scenes from her nightmare and she wanted to run away again, but the images were replaced by others. She saw Damon lying next to her, playing with her teddy bear and talking nonsense. Then the picture changed and she saw herself, she wore a beautiful blue dress and walked down the stairs of the Lockwood Mansion. Stefan was supposed to wait for her, but he wasn't there. Instead she looked at Damon, a small smile on his lips. "Elena…" she heard his voice in her head and it made her smile. The next picture showed her the day when Rose and Trevor kidnapped her. They were gone and Elena ran down the stairs. There was Damon again and he looked so hopeful and relieved. She wanted to run to him, but suddenly Stefan appeared in front of her and pulled her into a hug. Elena didn't notice back there, but Damon looked disappointed and it broke her heart.

While Elena was captured in her memories, Bonnie's eyes flung wide open. "Elena?" she asked unsure and looked at her best friend who was peacefully sleeping on the sofa. Bonnie shook her softly. "Elena, wake up. I'm glad it seemed to work, but you need to sleep in your own bed." Elena didn't move. She smiled in her sleep, but she didn't react. "Elena?" Bonnie panicked inside. "Elena, don't make fun of me. Just wake up…" Bonnie shook her faster. "Elena!" But Elena didn't move. Bonnie stood up and walked through her room. "Oh my God…that wasn't supposed to happen…" She went with her fingers through her hair. "She just can't wake up…what have I done…?"

* * *

><p>Stefan softly stroked Elena's cheek. She looked so peaceful and happy while sleeping. It seemed she didn't notice anything that was going on around her. Stefan softly kissed her forehead. "You need to wake up " he whispered.<p>

Damon was furious, no he was beyond furious. He pinned Bonnie against the kitchen wall and this time she didn't even think about giving him an aneurysm. "Stupid little witch!" He hissed. "What the hell have you done?"

Bonnie shook her head. "I don't know…it went wrong…" She couldn't really speak, because of his hard grip. Damon seemed to notice and put his hand back. "Speak!" He demanded.

"She asked me to perform a spell, that her nightmares would stop, but it kinda backfired. Now she seems to have good dreams, but can't wake up." Bonnie explained, eying Damon carefully.

"Are you saying that you sorta fairytale_fied _her and now she is all Sleeping Beauty?" He asked confused.

"You can say that…" Bonnie bit her lips and waited for a reaction. Normally she would teach Damon some manners, but he was right being angry with her, she messed the spell up.

"Okay…" Damon said and tried to calm himself, "Just reverse the spell and the little princess will be all happy go lucky again."

Bonnie opened Emily's spell book and showed Damon the page with the spell. "The problem is, I just can't reverse a spell. To break a spell you need a counter one."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Bravo, Sabrina you are really awesome." He said annoyed. He roughly pushed her towards the living room. "Go and find your little counter spell!"

* * *

><p>Stefan never left Elena's side. They brought her into Bonnie's bedroom, just in case her father would come home. "You are so beautiful when you're asleep, but you're even more beautiful when you're awake. Please, Elena you need to wake up…I need you." He begged her but she didn't even made a sound. "I know you suffer from your nightmares and I promise I will try to make you feel better. I just don't understand why you never ask for my help. I am your boyfriend Elena and I would do anything for you, you just need to trust me and not <em>him<em>. I told him to back off, you know? He ruined so much and I don't want him to hurt you again. You deserve something better than this."

Little did Stefan know, Elena could hear him during her sleep. She still watched some of her memories and currently saw her and Damon's trip to Georgia, when she heard Stefan's words. She wanted to yell at him to shut up. That Damon would never hurt her again and that he wasn't the one to decide what she deserved, but she couldn't. She couldn't open her eyes and she couldn't use her voice. She was trapped in her own body. _"Because I wanted it to be real." _She heard Damon's voice. Suddenly she didn't care about the outside world. All she needed were her moments with Damon.

* * *

><p>Stefan left the room to go for a walk. He needed to clear his mind, or better "brood until Armageddon" as it sounded in Damon's language.<p>

Damon sneaked quietly into Bonnie's bedroom and sat down on the chair next to the sleeping Elena. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty." He said softly and took her hand. "With _'doing something against your nightmares' _I didn't mean an eternal beauty sleep. But, you always get me wrong, don't you?" His eyes saddened. "Did I ever tell how you got your necklace back after Rose and Trevor kidnapped you? I guess not."

Elena started to listen attentively. She was glad he obviously didn't know that she could hear him. She ignored the current memory and concentrated on Damon's words. They seemed to be important.

"I brought it back, you probably thought it was Saint Stefan." He laughed bitterly. "I…told you my true feeling for you…I don't know maybe you know anyways, but I love you Elena. I have for a while and…no it's not that crazy obsessive love I felt for the evil bitch…this time its true….you wonder why you didn't remember any of this, huh? I'm sorry but I compelled you. You shouldn't wear my burden and feel sorry for me, besides…I don't deserve you…Stefan does. He is the one for you." She kissed her hand like he did it the day they first met and left the room.

Elena wanted to scream and to stand up, but it was impossible. He loved her. He. Loved. Her. She couldn't believe he really said it and she couldn't say anything in return. She wanted to wake up and tell him, that he deserved her and that she was wrong, when she told him _it's always going to be Stefan. _She couldn't wake up. Her whole body felt like plump and she couldn't move her limps. Elena panicked inside. She almost wished the nightmares back, because she always could escape from them. She didn't mind her memories before, but they were the _past. _She wanted the _present. _The _future._

* * *

><p>"I found something!" Bonnie exclaimed and almost threw Emily's book up in the air.<p>

"What is it?" Stefan asked excited. Damon leaned against the doorway and looked skeptically. He didn't trust in the witches skills.

Bonnie walked towards the bedroom, followed by Stefan and Damon and kneed down next to Elena. "I can change the spell." She said calmly and took one of Elena's hands.

She started to murmur something and Latin and the lights started to bicker. Elena was briefly covered with a blanket of light before Bonnie opened her eyes and stood up. She felt a bit dizzy, but looked satisfied.

"What did you do?" Damon asked. "Some pixie dust and she can fly back from Neverland?"

Bonnie ignored Damon and turned to Stefan. She softly pulled him towards Elena. "It's an easy spell…she needs to be kissed by her true love and boom she wakes up."

Damon raised an eyebrow. Bonnie looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "The Sleeping Beauty reference helped. Thank you."

Damon shrugged. "Yeah, whatever." He said annoyed and left the room as Stefan touched Elena's cheek. He really wasn't in the mood to watch the "true love's reunion".

Bonnie followed him and closed the door silently behind her. She wanted to give them some privacy.

Stefan leaned over Elena's body and smiled. "I love you…please wake up." He whispered and kissed her lips.

Elena felt the kiss, but she still couldn't move.

Stefan waited a moment before he kissed her again. And again. And again.

Elena wanted to roll her eyes. _Doesn't he notice it's not going to work? _Her voice said inside her head.

Stefan was confused. He kissed her more than one time, and in each kiss he lay all of his love for her, but it didn't work out. "Bonnie!" He called anxious.

Bonnie and Damon stormed into the room, both looked shocked at the still sleeping Elena. "It's not going to work…" Stefan said slowly.

Damon grabbed Bonnie's arms and pinned her at the wall again. "Seems like you messed it up again, witch!" He snapped.

This time Bonnie managed to free herself. "No! The spell was correct, I don't know why it's not working!" She looked worried at Stefan who squeezed Elena's hand.

"Oh, don't make me laugh! If the spell was correct, why is she still asleep? I mean, Stefan surely doesn't look like a Prince Charming, but he is her quotation mark _true love _quotation mark." Damon said and glared at Bonnie.

Bonnie constantly shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe it needs some time to work out…or she needs to be kissed more often."

Stefan suddenly stood up. His face was unreadable. "You miss the obvious answer here." He said bluntly. "Maybe I'm not her true love."

Bonnie eyed him like he lost his mind and Damon burst out in laughter. "Sure, brother. You are not her true love. Just her reason to breathe, to smile and to live." Damon said sarcastically.

Bonnie gave Stefan an encouraging smile, Stefan smiled back, but his smile was full of bitterness and frustration. He suddenly remembered all the little moments he watched between Elena and Damon. The way she eased up around him. The way he made her smile. The way her eye sparkled whenever he entered the room. He remembered all the time he thought _'It should be me'._

Damon snapped his fingers in front of Stefan's nose. "Earth to Prince Charming! Hello?"

Stefan shrugged. He then walked past Damon. "It's not going to work…not with me." He said sadly and looked at Damon. "Kiss her…she will wake up."

Damon wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh at Stefan or punch him to the face for saying something like that. "Stefan, you really lost your damn mind, did you? That is Elena's life we're talking about and you dare to make jokes?"

Stefan laughed without humor in voice. "C'mon Damon, everyone knows you're on love with her…until today I just never thought she would love you back."

Bonnie could feel the growing tension between the brothers. Damon was clearly pissed and Stefan, well he was incredibly bitter. She looked at Elena. The major importance was to wake her up and even if she didn't like the fact that Stefan might be right and Elena was in love with Damon, Bonnie would do everything to wake her up.

"Maybe you should try it." She said and tried to sound as nice and comforting as she could in front of Damon.

"She doesn't love me!" Damon burst out. "She loves HIM!" He pointed at Stefan. "Maybe she doesn't like the taste of his new chap stick or his lips are just too dry, but stop being ridiculous. Both of you!"

Bonnie almost felt sorry for Damon. He seemed so hurt and offended and she didn't know what to do. Stefan didn't move at all. He was like stature.

Bonnie softly touched Damon's arm. "Do you love her? And I mean, do you _truly _love her?" She asked. Damon never saw so much compassion in the witch's eyes. He slowly nodded. "I do…more than anything." He whispered. Stefan shot him a disparaging glance.

Bonnie nodded and pulled him slowly towards Elena. "Then do it. Maybe she surprises all of us."

Damon kneed down in front of Elena. His fingers slowly touched her lips. "I hope you won't slap me if you ever going to find out about this." He mumbled and lowered his head.

He hesitated a moment before his lips softly touched hers. Her lips were soft and warm and he felt a shiver he never felt before. A sensational feeling ran through his whole body and he finally understood why kissing was so important in all those fairytales.

Elena felt the kiss the moment their lips touched. His lips were so much softer than she ever imagined them to be. Fireworks were nothing compared to the feeling she got. He put so much love and passion into one kiss that Elena never wanted it to stop.

Damon slowly pulled away but he didn't get far. Elena suddenly swung her arms around his neck and kissed him again. Damon was surprised but didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss.

It wasn't sweet and sincere as the first one, it was passionate and desiring. They didn't even know how long they kissed. Damon didn't care if Bonnie and Stefan were in the room, too and neither did Elena.

She smiled into his mouth as they pulled away. "I knew it was you" She said and as she opened her eyes she gave him the most gorgeous smile he had ever seen.

"See…" She whispered and leaned her forehead against his, "A true love's kiss always works."

Damon chuckled. "Next time, just lose your shoe, promise?"

Elena sighed. "Killjoy."

Damon kissed her lips again. "But you love me."

"Yes, I love you. The fact that I'm awake proves that, right?" She replied.

Damon pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. "I love you, princess."

Bonnie felt a few tears running down her cheek. She kinda felt like Caroline, but she couldn't help it. That scene was better than every Disney Movie and chick flick combined. She briefly looked in Stefan's direction, but he was gone. Bonnie felt sorry for him, but watching the scene in front of her made her realize that those two belonged together. They probably always belonged together. She quietly left the room and looked into Emily's book again. There was a little note, she didn't notice at first, written under the spell. "A true love's kiss is the strongest power on earth." Bonnie smiled and closed the book.

"_Since first we knew love through true love's kiss"_

_**The End**_


	9. Savages

**AN: I finally got the time to update this story, sorry it took me so long. Thank you so much for the great feedback for the last chapter, I'm really glad you liked it. This time I chose the song "Savages" from Pocahontas. This songs wasn't originally planned to be in the collection, but the idea kinda hit me. It's not fluff like most of the others and involves more group action. Some characters are a bit OOC, but I needed to change them, so it would fit. I'm shocked...I kinda turned Carol Lockwood into the vilain XD I'm kinda satisfied with this one and hope you'll enjoy it.**

**I jus posted the prologue to a new Delena story "If Only"...I'm doing some plug again XD**

**I would oved to get some comments :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, the character, the movie Pocahontas or the song I used.  
><strong>

_**Savages**_

"_They're savages! Savages!_

_Barely even human,_

_Savages! Savages!_

_Driven from our shore!_

_They're not like you and me_

_Which means they must be evil"_

Elena runs like hell. She ignores that her sides are already hurting from her heavy breath. She pushes the townspeople aside who are standing in her way. She doesn't even know that Mystic Falls actually has so many people living there. She looks at the sky. It is almost dawn. The time is running up. She wishes for one day she could have vampire super speed, so that she would be already there, but that was not going to happen. Tears are running down her cheeks. She can't help but think it is all her fault, that without her, he wouldn't be in this situation. She runs faster, this time she would safe him, whatever the cost will be. And if she dies with him, it would be better than live in a world without him.

Elena wonders how it all went down so wrong in only a few days and that now, when the world seemed finally good again after months of fear and darkness.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Three days earlier<strong>_

_Six months. It had been six months since they finally defeated Klaus and the world was going back to normal. Elena still didn't know how they all managed to survive. It was like a miracle to her. She smiled and relaxed into her chair. The whole "gang" was at the Grill, celebrating Bonnie's 18__th__ birthday and she couldn't help but watch the people around her._

_Bonnie was on the dance floor and smiled the whole evening. She was giggling at Jeremy's really awkward dance moves and Elena felt utterly happy for both of them. Their relationship grew stronger each day and Elena never saw one of them happier than with each other._

_Her eyes went on to Caroline, Matt and Tyler. They were playing pool and all three of them seemed to enjoy their time together. Elena sighed. She actually never thought to see all three of them in one room together again. During the whole Klaus mess Caroline and Tyler got closer and when they finally couldn't "suppress it anymore" they started something behind Matt's back. When Matt walked onto them one day, all hell broke loose. Now they are laughing and being friendly again. Elena hoped Matt will never find out that his ex-girlfriend and best friend are supernatural creatures that would ruin things between them again._

_Her eyes wandered into the corner next to the bar. Alaric, Jenna and Stefan were standing in a circle, talking about something Elena couldn't hear because of the music. Jenna still didn't know about vampires and even if Elena knew she had to tell her someday, she didn't want to rush things. Alaric was okay with that and just enjoyed being at Jenna's side without any drama lately. He was about to move in with them during the next weeks and Elena finally felt like she had a normal family again. Stefan was looking over at her and shot her a small smile. Elena gave him a nod. It was strange to her being not close to him, but she didn't miss it all. They broke up after Klaus was gone. Elena knew it broke his heart, but she needed time to figure out who she is and what she really wants. They were friends now and for Elena it felt like they were actually better at being friends than being lovers._

"_So kitten, you are kinda boring today." Elena turned around and saw Damon standing right behind her. "I'm not boring!" She snapped. "I'm just not…so exciting today…" She mumbled and felt ridiculous. He chuckled and took a seat next to her. "What's on your mind?" He asked and nipped at his drink. Elena was still surprised Bonnie really invited him after all that happened they were somehow cool now. "I just thought how much can change in only six months." Elena said absentmindedly. She was eyeing Damon carefully. Their relationship was the strangest change over the last months. They were friends again. Close friends. Almost together each day and according to Caroline, they acted more like a couple than Elena and Stefan ever did, without being together. She consumed every moment with him. She laughed about his jokes, even the stupid ones, she listened to the stories from his past and she didn't mind his little flirty comments. They were more than friends, but what exactly they were was the big elephant in the room. He never talked about it. She never talked about it. Elena knew deep down that someday they had to do "that talk" but right now, their relationship was perfect the way it was._

"_You know…you can get wrinkles from all the pondering." He said suddenly and Elena slapped him playfully on the arm. "I'm eighteen…you don't get wrinkles at eighteen."_

_Damon narrowed his eyes and leaned forward to her. His face was just a few inches away from hers. Elena thought her heart would jump out if her chest. He smirked. "I think you got two or three…." He softly touched her forehead. "Just there…"_

_Elena blushed. She was used having him close to her, but every time he touched her, she got goosebumps and it was getting harder to resist the urge to kiss him._

"_What's going on here?" Caroline asked and crossed her arms. Elena shrugged back. "No…nothing." She stuttered and Caroline giggled. "Well, well Miss Gilbert that didn't look like nothing. It looked like Mr. Salvatore here was charming you and you couldn't resist." She teased her friend and knew Elena's face would look like tomato within seconds._

_Damon rolled his eyes. Blondie was playing matchmaker for almost four months now and it was getting tired. "Go back to Wolf boy and do a little smoochie session." He said annoyed._

_Caroline laughed. "Don't be grumpy, Damon! Live is wonderful! We defeated the evil bad ass villain, you and Elena are kinda together and no vampire attack in months."_

_Elena jumped on her feet. "Shh." She hissed at Caroline. "Don't jinx it!"_

_Caroline raised an eyebrow. "You are crazy, honey."_

_Damon stood up and grabbed Elena's arm. "C'mon Little Miss Worried, you need some fresh air." He dragged her outside the Grill and Elena took a deep breath. "I don't know what's wrong with me today."_

_Damon placed her hand in his and they started to walk. "Nothing is wrong with you. It's been only six months. That's nothing compared to all the crap before. You need time to get used to live in Pleasantville again and not in a living nightmare."_

_She sighed. "I guess you are right."_

_They stood still for a moment and just stared at each other. "Elena…" Damon whispered and came closer._

_She slowly closed her eyes. It would finally happen. She waited so long for it and now he would…Elena couldn't think to the end. Suddenly Damon pushed her aside. Her eyes flung wide open, she was glad she didn't fall down from his push. "Damon!" She screamed. He was a few meters away from her, fighting with another man she never saw before. He was tall and looked very well-built. Damon seemed to have trouble to get him off. Elena walked closer to them. She wanted to see the man's face, which was nearly impossible in the darkness outside. She was shivering. The man suddenly kicked Damon into the stomach. He fell back and growled in pain. "Damon!" Elena shrieked. The man turned to her. Elena couldn't see much, but what she saw was enough. His eyes were blood red, his face was covered with dark veins and as he opened his mouth, she could see his fangs. "A vampire…" she said in a shock and walked slowly backwards. She knew it was useless to run away, he would catch her anyways. She grabbed into her pocket and hoped for a vervain dart, but there was nothing. Since Klaus was dead she didn't had them with her all the time. "Shit…"she mumbled._

_The vampire watched her like a starved out animal. He grinned and licked over his lips. Elena wanted to close her eyes, but she just couldn't look away from him. He speeded towards her and she thought she would feel his fangs every minute, but she never did. Damon jumped on him again, his face vamped out. He pressed his fangs into the vampire's neck and slammed him to the ground. The vampire screamed in pain and Damon smiled wickedly. "Tell you what…trying to eat my girl, bad move." He said in a low voice and before the vampire could react, Damon ripped his heart out of his chest._

_Elena's face was white. She trembled in every limp. Damon walked slowly back to her, his face normal again. "You okay?" He asked concerned. She nodded. "Just a little bit…you know…shocked." He gave her a small smile. "You called me 'your girl'" Elena said suddenly and tried to lighten up the mood. Damon softly kissed her cheek. "Well, what should I say, I think we –"_

"_Damon! Elena!" Stefan stormed outside the Grill and Damon rolled his eyes. His brother was a true master in ruining the moment._

"_What can I do for you, little bro?" He asked annoyed._

_Stefan immediately noticed the blood on Damon's hands and as he looked behind him, he saw the obvious dead body. "What happened? I just heard Elena screaming. Who is this guy?"_

"_Just a plain vampire, nothing special. He tried to feed on Elena, I killed him. End of the story." Damon explained. For Elena's liking he was a bit too cool since the vampire actually managed to fight him off at first, but she thought he didn't want to lose his face in front of Stefan. Some guy thing only guys would understand._

"_Where did he come from?" Stefan asked and mustered the body._

_Damon shrugged. "Who cares, he's dead." He glanced over to Elena. "Maybe Barbie jinxed it." He laughed and Elena glared at him. "Just kidding." Damon said and did his eye thing. _

_Elena laughed and Damon joined her. Stefan thought he missed some kind of an insider between them._

_If they would have paid more attention, they maybe had noticed the shocked person who watched them all the time. _

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two days earlier<strong>_

_Elena was at the Boarding House all morning. She hoped Damon and her could pick up their conversation from last night, before Stefan decided to interrupt. He was clearly a master in appearing to the wrong time at the wrong place. To Elena's dismay, Stefan as well as Caroline decided to stick around the whole time. Elena was in the kitchen making herself some coffee while Damon and Caroline were actually fighting over the topic which blood tasted better, A positive or A negative, with Stefan as their involuntary mediator, when the doorbell rang._

_Damon speeded towards the door. "Believe me Princess; you have no idea what you are talking about!" He shouted over his shoulder and gave Caroline a cocky grin._

_Elena sat down next to Stefan on the sofa when they suddenly heard a scream from the door. Stefan rushed to the front door followed by a confused Elena and Caroline. "Damon, what –" He stopped when he noticed his brother on the floor, darts all over in his body and a wooden stake driven through his stomach. "Damon!" Elena said and wanted to help him when suddenly two deputies held her back. "What's going on?" She asked panicky._

_Sheriff Forbes entered the house with a dark look on her face. She glanced at Caroline who was left speechless. "Caroline, Elena get out of here as fast as possible." She looked at Stefan and before he could speak he had a wooden stake in his stomach too. "Stefan!" Caroline yelled and rushed to his side. "Caroline get away from him! He is dangerous!" Her mother demanded. Caroline shook her head. "No…what are you talking about?"_

_Elena was still held by the deputies. Her eyes were fixed on the unconscious Damon. _

"_They are monsters Caroline, vampires to be exact." The sheriff explained and Caroline's eyes widened. She couldn't understand why her mother knew all of sudden. Who exposed them? Everyone who knew played clearly on their own team._

_Liz looked at Elena. "You probably don't remember it, Elena, because Damon manipulated you, but you saw his true face last night."_

"_Last night…?"Elena whispered and suddenly the penny was beginning to drop. Someone must have seen them. Of course, they were on the open street and everything happened so fast that they weren't careful enough._

_Stefan groaned and one of the deputies shot a dart into his chest. "Stop it!" Elena screamed. _

"_Who…told you?" Stefan asked with a painful voice. The deputy shot another dart. "Shut up, monster!" He hissed._

_Caroline couldn't look at Stefan anymore, it was too much to see him like that and Damon still hadn't woke up._

"_A poor woman just watched Damon and another vampire last night. She first didn't believe what she saw, but I'm glad she told me." She gave the deputies a nod. "Take them away!" She ordered in a hard voice Caroline never heard before. "No!" Elena screamed._

_Two deputies grabbed Damon, but suddenly his eyes flung open. Then everything happened so fast, that Elena nearly couldn't follow. Damon pushed them away and the Sheriff shot a dozen of vervain darts at him. Damon still didn't fell back on the ground. He rushed over to Stefan and pulled the stake out of his stomach. "Run!" He ordered and shield him from the other deputies and their weapons. Stefan hesitated for a moment. "Run!" Damon said again before a wooden bullet crashed into his head. Stefan closed his eyes for a moment before he ran to the backdoor and disappeared. Damon sunk on his knees. Sheriff Forbes and her men were still shooting at him. Caroline kneed down next to him, but Damon just shook his head. "Don't." He whispered that only she could hear him. "They don't know about you."_

_Caroline shook her head. "But…" she said with tear-filled eyes. Damon could hardly speak anymore. He glanced at Elena before he finally closed his eyes. "Keep her from…doing…something…stupid." He said and passed out._

_The next moments happened in slow motion for Elena. Liz pulled Caroline away from Damon and dragged her outside. One of the deputies did the same with her. She was crying and screaming and wished everything was just a nightmare. "Bring her home." She heard Liz voice. She didn't want to go home. She tried to free herself but the deputy was too strong. She looked at the entrance of the Boarding House. Two men dragged Damon roughly outside. He looked barley alive. "Damon….Damon…" she mumbled and then everything turned black._

* * *

><p><em>Elena slowly opened her eyes. "Where am I?" She asked confused and sat up. She slowly touched her head. It hurt like hell. <em>

"_You are in my room." She looked up and saw Caroline looking out of her window. _

"_What happened?" She blinked and then it hit her. Damon. Stefan. Exposed. "Oh my God! Damon and Stefan! What…what…." She didn't even find the right words without crying again._

_Caroline rushed to her bedside and pulled Elena into a hug. "Shh, calm down Elena, please." She said softly._

"_I don't know what happened." Elena said slowly. Everything seemed blurry to her, like it was only a bad dream._

"_Well, a woman saw Damon and that other vampire fighting last night. She was afraid, told my mother and I guess you know the rest." She handed Elena a glass of water. "What about Damon and Stefan?" Elena asked, afraid of the answer._

_Caroline hesitated for a moment. "The good news is, Stefan is safe. Damon helped him to run away…but Damon, they got him." Suddenly Elena remembered. Damon fought the deputies so that Stefan could escape. He sacrificed himself. "He…he is not…dead is he?" Elena couldn't imagine a world without Damon in it. That was simply not possible. Caroline shook her head but her face was serious. Elena never saw Caroline so serious before. "After you passed out I told my Mom I would take care of you. While you were asleep I talked to one of the deputies…I was lucky to find one who hadn't consumed vervain and compelled him. Damon is held in the police station. They chained him with vervain and he is still unconscious. I don't know what they will do. The council meets while we are talking and if I understand him correctly Carol Lockwood will have a media conference later on."_

_Elena felt her head spinning around, so many information at the same time. Suddenly she raised an eyebrow. "A media conference?" She asked confused. No one except or the council knew "officially" about vampires._

_Caroline looked down. "Looks like the woman who saw everything…couldn't keep her mouth shut and told everyone. Now Mrs. Lockwood has to come clean about everything."_

_Elena was shocked. The situation was even worse than she thought. Not just Damon and Stefan were exposed, but everything. "What are we doing? I mean they'll kill him!" Elena was desperate. She wanted nothing more than to storm into the police station and break him out by herself._

_Caroline hugged her again. "They won't. I promise you…" She didn't sound very convincing. Not to Elena and not to herself. _

_Caroline than stood up. "Let's go!" She said grabbed her jacket. _

"_Where?" Elena asked and followed her downstairs. Caroline took her bag and listened for a moment to make sure her mother wasn't home. "We'll meet Stefan. He called and told me he is at the old Salvatore Mansion. The others are already there."_

* * *

><p><em>They sat around the old ruins of the once so graceful Salvatore Mansion like they were the knights of the round table. Except that they didn't look graceful or winning. They looked defeated and hopeless. Elena hugged Stefan basically a hundred times and told him how glad she was he was okay, but her fear for Damon overshadowed everything.<em>

_She looked at the round. Stefan was constantly shaking his head, Caroline was basically eating her fingernails, Bonnie was deepened in Emily's spell book, Alaric was ignoring Jenna's calls, Tyler just stared straightforward and Jeremy was busy searching a frequency for the radio he brought, so they could hear Carol Lockwood's speech._

"_I'm sorry," Caroline said suddenly. "I should've done something…maybe if I would've fought them too, my Mom would've been too distracted and and…" She broke down in tears. Tyler cradled her in his arms like a little child. "It's not your fault, Care." He whispered._

_Elena walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "He wanted you to be safe…imagine how pissed he would be if you would've exposed yourself to save him." She tried to sound encouraging. She needed to be strong. She needed to be focused to safe Damon._

_Caroline gave her a weak smile. "He would probably bicker all the time." She laughed lightly._

_Bonnie closed her book and stood up. "May I ask the obvious question here? What are we going to do?"_

"_Break him out." Jeremy said causally and put the radio aside._

_Tyler narrowed his eyes. "And how should we do that? It's not like we just can walk in, grab the keys and get him out before someone will notice."_

_Bonnie made a thoughtful face. "I could try a spell. Some invisible spell maybe…" She said unsure. She never did a spell like that before, but it was possible._

_Jeremy shook his head. "That's too risky. The whole town will be on alarm now. We cannot risk that you'll be exposed, too."_

_Bonnie was about to protest when Alaric softly grabbed her shoulder. "I think Jeremy is right, Bonnie. I know you want to do it, but it's enough they got one us and Stefan is officially on the run."_

"_Maybe I can talk to my Mom." Caroline said. "She understood once, maybe she will again."_

_Elena doubted that. She remembered Sheriff Forbes determined look on her face as she attacked Damon and Stefan. That woman was not going to change her mind._

_Stefan was silent all the time. He and Damon were fighting all the time. They blamed each other for years of pain and suffering, he thought more than one time, that his life would be better without Damon in it, but now…now it was different. He saved his life. He was captured because he helped Stefan to run away. He had enough strength to run by himself, but he stayed behind. For him._

"_Stefan?" Elena said softly and sat down next to him._

_Stefan searched for her eyes and Elena's heart broke for him. He looked totally defeated. "He saved me, Elena. He saved me. Why did he do that?" His voice broke and Elena could tell he fought with his tears._

_She softly took his hand. "Because he loves you." She said and as the word 'love' escaped her lips, she wanted to break down again. She never told him. She never told him her true feelings and now it might be too late. She shook her head. She needed to banish those negative thoughts from her mind. They still had time to rescue him and they managed situations much worse._

_Jeremy turned the radio on. "I think it's time." He said and glanced at Tyler who didn't look happy._

"_Why do I have the bad feeling my Mom will totally screw things even more up?" He squeezed Caroline's hand and hoped he was wrong._

_Alaric took a deep breath. He was with Tyler on this one. As far as he knew Carol Lockwood, it meant never something good when that woman started to talk._

"_My dear people of Mystic Falls." Carol's voice spoke and they all were silent._

"_You may heard the rumors, about creatures from your nightmares walking around our peaceful town and being more than real and alive. I'm speaking of vampires. Monsters of the night that drain people like you and me out of blood, who kill and hunt humans just for fun and oh I wish I could tell you those rumors are wrong, but I can't. Vampires exist and they living among us. They look like you and me until their faces change and they reveal the beast inside. I don't know how, but they can also walk on sunlight which makes them even more dangerous. Our town was always a place vampires liked to come, because of this our founding father's created a secret council to keep their people and families safe. And I'm proud to say that, this council exists still today. We protect this town as good as we can, but…we made a mistake and didn't see that one of us, was one of them. I apologize to you Mystic Falls, because I failed you. I didn't see the monster in front of me. But don't worry, thanks to our brave Sheriff Liz Forbes, the danger is under control. We captured the beast, most of you know him, Damon Salvatore. I know you are shocked and so am I, but he will pay for fooling us, he will pay for being a danger to our town and most of all he will be our sign to all vampires not to mess with Mystic Falls. Two days from now, as soon as the sun rises, the beast will die and to make sure you all believe me, we will execute it at the town's market place. You may think this is cruel and not appropriate, but I assume you it is. We will not end the life of an actual person, we will destroy a threat, a monster and others like him will be warned not to come here again!"_

_As Carol's speech was over, Jeremy turned the radio down. His hands were shaking. _

"_My mother lost her mind…" Tyler said slowly, a blank expression on his face._

_Elena almost forgot to breathe. That was worse than every nightmare she ever head. She was falling deep into an abyss of despair. She almost wished for Klaus to come back. For them to fight side by side. For Damon stepping in front of her and protect her. She fell down on her knees. That was the reason he was captured. Because he protected her. She wanted to scream, but her voice wouldn't let her. She felt two arms around her and noticed Jeremy kneeing next to her. He softly stroked the back of her head, but said nothing._

_A sudden noise ran through the forest. Elena looked up and saw Stefan smashing some trees around. Caroline softly grabbed his shoulder. "Stefan…" She didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell him everything will work out, that they would find a way to safe him, because what should they do? The whole town was on vampire watch. There was no way to get him out._

* * *

><p><em>Damon slowly opened his eyes. It was dark and everything smelled horrible. He knew that smell but he couldn't figure out what it was. He tried to move but his arms were chained. "What the…?" He moved faster and tried to free himself, but with each move his skin started to burn. "Vervain…fuck…" He mumbled. That was the smell. The whole room smelled like vervain.<em>

"_You're finally awake." He noticed the voice and tried to smirk through his pain. "Liz, nice to see you. How ya doing? I'm fine, just hanging around."_

_Liz laughed without humor in her voice. She looked serious, strained and also betrayed. "You fooled us…all the time. You and your brother were the monsters we were hunting all along." It wasn't a question. Damon tried to speak normally, he didn't want her to see his pain. "Maybe. Maybe we did damage to this town more than you can imagine, but maybe…maybe we saved all of your stupid asses without you noticing it."_

_Liz laughed again. "You lie as soon as you open your mouth. You will pay for everything you did."_

_This time it was Damon the one who laughed. "I'm a vampire. I did horrible things, that's true, but are you really that dump to believe that we are all the same? Vampire means monster, right? I understand, it's easier that way." An image of Caroline flipped into his mind and he hoped Liz would never find out what her daughter is. It would break Caroline's heart if her own mother would call her a monster._

"_What do you mean?" Liz said coldly._

"_You only see everything in white and black…but believe it or not there are shades of grey." Damon didn't mean himself, but Stefan and Caroline, he even thought of Lexi for a brief moment._

"_Shut up, monster!" she yelled. "You will be executed in two days. In public too show Mystic Falls that we can handle any kinds of monsters."_

_Damon closed his eyes for a moment. He expected them to kill him. The public thing was something he didn't expect, but at least he would go in a spectacular way. The thing that sadden him was Elena. He regretted it never more that he compelled her after he confessed his love, than now. Now she would never knew._

* * *

><p><em><strong>One day earlier<strong>_

_Caroline was walking through her room, with Tyler on the phone. They were both encouraging each other to speak to their mothers. Maybe if one of them would succeed, the whole madness would stop. "Did you see what they are doing in town? It's like they preparing for a festival. They sell vervain for God's sake! Seriously, I never thought I'd say that, but I feel like I wanna go on a killing spree. What?" she giggled. "Yeah, I'll wait until full moon and we do it together." Caroline heard a noise from upstairs. "My Mom just got home. See you later and good luck. Love you." She hung up and looked into the mirror. "You can do that Caroline."_

_She walked downstairs and entered the kitchen. Liz was sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in her hands. She didn't look like she slept well. "Mom?" Caroline asked carefully._

_Liz tried to smile. "Yes, Caroline?" She asked an yawned afterwards. _

"_Mom we need to talk!" Caroline said in a sudden harsh voice. Her mother looked up. Normally Caroline would feel sorry for her being so exhausted, but not this time._

"_Mom…what you are doing with Damon…that's beyond cruel, totally medieval and…and I won't let you do it!"_

_Liz placed a hand on Caroline's shoulder. "Caroline, I understand. He is your friend and you are confused. But he is a monster."_

_Caroline lowered her voice. "Because he is not human? That's your definition of 'monster', mother? I know Damon Salvatore. He is a good man, he actually did more good than he sees by himself."_

_Liz sighed. "He is not even a man Caroline…but you are young. You don't understand. Someday you will." With that her mother walked out of the kitchen._

"_No, you're the one who don't understand." Caroline said._

_Liz looked over her shoulder. "Pardon me?"_

_Caroline crossed her arms. "You heard me. You're the one who don't understand. Who cares if Damon and Stefan are vampires? That doesn't mean they are much different from us! They feel the same way. They know what fear means, happiness, fun, friendship and love. Mom, how can you not see this?" Caroline knew she was also talking about herself, but she wouldn't make the mistake now and expose herself._

_Liz grabbed her car keys. "I will not discuss this with you, Caroline. I'll do what I think it's best for you and our town and if you think that is not right, well then I can't help you."_

_Caroline shook her head. What else should she have expected?_

* * *

><p><em>Alaric slammed his fist on the kitchen table. "Dammit!" He screamed.<em>

_Jenna shrugged. She never saw him angry like that. She sat down at the table and reached for his hand. "How long did you know? What they are?" She asked calmly._

"_As Long as I'm here…even before I moved." His voice was strained._

_Jenna just nodded. She didn't ask why he kept it from her and how much Jeremy and Elena were involved, it wasn't the right time for those questions._

"_Is he dangerous?" She asked. Alaric didn't exactly know what to say. 'No' would be a lie, and 'yes' would be a lie too. "He's dangerous to those who hurt his loved ones." He looked Jenna deeply into the eyes. "He saved Elena's life the night the woman saw him. And he saved her countless times before. He would die for her."_

_Jenna softly touched Alaric's cheek. "I believe you. I wish I could help you…"_

_Alaric shook his head. "There is nothing we can do. The whole town wants him dead…I…I can't let him die, Jen. He is my friend." It was actually the first time Alaric really spoke it out loud. Damon and he never acknowledged their friendship, but it was there. _

"_I know…" Jenna said and swung her arms comforting around Alaric's neck. "I know."_

* * *

><p><em>Tyler knocked at his mother's office door. She spent a lot of time there since she had taken over her husband's job as the mayor. "Come in." She said and sounded cheerful as always.<em>

_Tyler took a deep breath. Talking to his mother had never been easy. But he would try, for Damon. He almost laughed at the irony, that a few months ago he would have been happy to see him staked and now they were sorta friends._

"_Tyler, darling!" She said and hugged him over her desk. "Hi, Mom." He said restrained._

"_What brings you here?" She folded her hands and smiled at him._

_Tyler thought about sitting down, but he decided standing would look more confident. "Mom, I want you stop that ridiculous execution of Damon Salvatore!" He burst out. Carol said nothing. She just stared at him. "Excuse me? I think now is really not the time to make jokes." Her voice went from cheerful to deadly serious._

"_Who said I was joking?" Tyler replied and was surprised how cold he could sound towards his own mother._

_Carol stood up and slammed her hands on the desk. "Tyler Richard Lockwood! What are you thinking to say something like that?"_

"_Mom, with all my respect…" He tried not be angry, "But I think you completely lost your mind. You are out of control. You want seriously a public execution? We're living in 2011 not 1811! Mom, that goes too far."_

_Carol lifted her hand and slapped Tyler across the face. He looked at her with dark eyes. She suddenly realized what she did. "Oh honey….I'm so sorry!"_

_Tyler laughed bitterly. "Don't be sorry for slapping me. You want to know something?" He leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "If you go on with your stupid plan, don't expect me to talk to you again."_

_Carol's eyes widened. "Tyler…I can't…." she said and couldn't belief his words. Why would her son go so far to protect a monster?_

_He bowed his head before he left. "Mayor."_

* * *

><p><em>Bonnie and Jeremy sat on her bed. Booth had their legs crossed and were holding hands. "You sure this is going to work? I'm kinda afraid I'll lose my lower part and will be only a talking head afterwards." Jeremy said and Bonnie giggled. She was so glad that he, even in times like this, always managed to make her laugh.<em>

_She closed her eyes. "Just relax. I won't hurt you." She said quietly and hoped her dad wouldn't walk in._

"_So, what exactly is going to happen to me?" He asked again, even if she explained it twice before._

"_I will use a transporting spell and send you to Damon, but it will only work out a few minutes, then you come back." Bonnie collected herself and nodded. "Alright, let's do it and hope he'll be alone."_

_Jeremy gulped when Bonnie started to speak something in Latin. The light in her room was flickering. A warm feeling ran through is body. It prickled everywhere. He closed his eyes, too and as he opened them, he was in a dark room. He needed a moment to get used to the darkness, but then he noticed a figure chained at the wall. "Damon!" Jeremy hissed and shook him. "C'mon man, wake up!" He was glad no deputy was in sight and spoke a bit louder. "Dammit, Damon!" He lightly slapped his arm. Damon growled and opened his eyes. "Gosh, wrong Gilbert." He said weakly. "I want to dream of your sister, go away Jeremy." He wanted to close his eyes again, but Jeremy started to shake him again. "Stay awake, buddy." He said with a slight panic in his voice. "It's really me, you're not dreaming. Bonnie used a transporter spell, but it only works temporary. We don't have much time." He explained._

_Damon smirked. "How are you doing?" Jeremy asked worried. Damon tried to move a bit, but there was too much vervain in his system. "I've been better. How are Stefan and…Elena?"_

_Jeremy looked briefly towards the cell door to make sure no one could hear them. "Stefan is fine, he's hiding at your old mansion. He is upset…more than that…desperate."_

_Damon chuckled. "That means nothing good for the squirrel population." Jeremy was impressed that Damon really could joke at the moment. "Elena is a mess. She cried nearly all night and when she finally slept, she screamed your name over and over again. Jenna and I couldn't calm her down. She's with Stefan now." He paused a moment. "Damon we don't know how to get you out." He said slowly. "Carol Lockwood is going crazy, the only thing that's missing right now is a witch hunt through town with torches and pitchforks."_

"_So we are completely exposed?" Damon asked and Jeremy could tell he was fighting with the pain. "Yes, the woman who saw you gossiped it around and Carol Lockwood told everyone."_

_Damon breathed heavily, the more he talked or concentrated, the worse got the pain. An image of Elena appeared before his eyes. "I never wanted to make her cry again." He said and it sounded heartbroken. _

"_I know." Jeremy said. Damon laughed lightly. "I'll tell you what to do. You do nothing. Alright, nothing."_

_Jeremy thought like he misunderstood him. "What? What do you mean by _nothing_?"_

"_Tell, Caroline and Stefan not to intervene, the same goes for Bonnie and Tyler. They can't risk to be exposed, too. Not for me." That was probably one of the most selfless things he ever said in his life. _

_Jeremy shook his head. "Dude, no! You can't ask us to just let you die, we are your friends!"_

"_That's exactly why you shouldn't do anything." Damon said calmly. He actually cared too much about them after all, to let them die because of him. "Promise me something, Jeremy."_

_Jeremy wasn't sure what to say. To him, this sounded like a permanent goodbye. "Okay." _

"_Keep Elena away tomorrow. I don't want her to see it." Damon's eyes were fixed on Jeremy. Before the younger Gilbert got the chance to answer him, he was gone._

"_Jeremy!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Are you alright?"_

_Jeremy nodded. "Just a little headache." Bonnie hugged him tightly. "What did he say?"_

"_That he doesn't want to be rescued."_

* * *

><p><em>Elena handed Stefan a bag. She sneaked into the Boarding House after the last deputies left that morning, thinking that Stefan was already over the hills and far away. "I brought you some clothes, something to read and a few blood bags, just in case."<em>

_Stefan smiled briefly. "Thanks, Elena." He noticed the black circles around her eyes. "You didn't sleep, did you?" He asked concerned._

_Elena shook her head. "Every time I closed my eyes I saw him." She felt the tears in her eyes all over again. "It's my fault, Stefan! He was just exposed because he saved me!" She screamed and he put his arms around her. "It's not your fault, Elena. It was…just an accident."_

_She sobbed into his chest. "It's just…I never…I thought we have time…I…We…he will never now…" On other circumstances Elena would've found it strange to talk to Stefan about her feelings for Damon, but she didn't care anymore. Neither did Stefan. "It's okay, we'll find a way…." He wished he could tell her more. That he had a plan and knew how to safe his brother's life, but the truth was, he was never more scared in his life. Not even when they fought Klaus. Damon had always been there. Even if they fought, claimed to hate each other and disagreed, he was always there to protect Stefan. Stefan always knew whatever would happen, Damon would be there to back him up. Now Damon was in danger and Stefan didn't know what to do. He needed his big brother._

_The vibration of Elena's handy stopped his thoughts for a moment. "Yes?" Elena answered. She didn't say much more, she just listened and shook her head. When she hung up, Stefan didn't know to how calm her anymore. "You heard?" She asked between tears. Stefan nodded. Jeremy called and told them about his conversation with Damon. "How can he say that?" Elena yelled, her voice was a mix between desperation and anger. "He doesn't want us to save him? That jerk!"_

_Stefan understood Damon, if their roles were switched he would probably want the same. He slammed his fist on the ground and created a hole. "I just don't know what to do. If we attack them tomorrow to get him free, we'll probably make it worse and Caroline or Bonnie will be hurt. We can't break him out and even if we could, we would never get him out of town. Talking to Carol and Liz is pointless….I just don't…" His voice broke. _

"_John…" Elena whispered suddenly and Stefan eyed her curiously. "John is on the council. He knows Damon…I'll talk to him, he has to help us!"_

* * *

><p><em>John Gilbert was leaning against the kitchen counter and listened to the radio. They repeated Carol's speech all day and John didn't know what to think about it. He hated vampires, but he never actually thought it would end like this.<em>

"_John!" Elena said and stormed into the kitchen. She looked horrible and John wished to make her feel better, but he knew he couldn't. He knew exactly what she wanted from him and was positive his answer would make her hate him even more._

"_John, do something! You're on the council, you need to stop them, please!" Her voice was shaking. She grabbed his shirt and shook him over and over again. John remained silent. "John, say something!" Elena begged._

"_I'm sorry, Elena." He said in an almost whisper. Elena felt like someone slapped her in the face. "What?" She said feebly. _

_John's expression was blank. "I'm sorry, but I won't say anything. That's for the best." His voice was hard and cold and it broke his heart to see his own daughter like that, but he was sure, one day she would thank him for that. "For the best?" She said. "FOR THE BEST?" She screamed again and hammered with her fists against his chest. "What do you know? Damon is no monster, John. You know what he did! He saved me…us from Klaus. He was the one killing him and…and he did so much more! How can you say that?"_

_John grabbed Elena's arms and dragged her upstairs into her room. They were alone, so Jenna couldn't stop him. "Elena, I know you think I'm the bad guy now, but one day you will understand, that a vampire never means something good."_

_Elena freed herself from his grip and tripped on her bed. "You are blinded by your hate!" She snapped. _

"_Elena…" John tried to reason with her, even if he knew it was senseless. "Even if he would escape, he would leave you. He and Stefan are not safe here anymore. Do you think he would care if he leaves you heartbroken? He is an egoistic monster!"_

_Elena was suddenly very calm. "He's not the monster John." She said with nothing but despite in her voice. _

"_What would you do? Leaving with him? Living a happy life on the run?" He asked._

"_Yes, I would follow him. I would follow him anywhere and I know he would never leave me." Elena was so confident that it almost scared her._

_John lowered his head. "I hope someday you'll forgive me." He said and before Elena could question what he meant he left her room and locked it up. Elena hammered against the door. "Let me out! John!" She grabbed into her pants pocket. Her phone was not there. "It's in the kitchen…" She whispered and sat down on her bed. "No one will come…" And it was the truth. Elena told Jenna she would stay with Stefan that night, but she hadn't informed Stefan yet and Jenna herself was at Alaric's flat. Jeremy stayed with Bonnie to make new plans and no one would notice she was locked up. She walked over to her window. It was already nightfall. "Damon…" she said. "I wish you would now….I'm so sorry…."_

* * *

><p><em><strong>One hour earlier<strong>_

_The whole town was meeting at the market place. Carol Lockwood ordered something like a stage to be build, so that everyone could see when they finally destroy the monster._

_Damon was barely conscious. He was still chained and filled with even more vervain than before. He heard the people whisper around him. They were scared and confused and hoped for it to end. Damon just hoped Elena was as far away as possible. He didn't want her to see him like that. He never thought he would end like that. He always counted on Klaus to kill him, or Katherine, maybe Stefan when he annoyed him too much._

_Liz stood next to him. She was watching him like a hawk. "This will be over soon." She hissed. Liz hesitated for a moment before she searched for Damon's eyes a last time. "I thought you were my friend."_

"_And I thought you were mine." He whispered._

* * *

><p><em>Stefan ran in circles. He ran his fingers through his hair. He was torn inside. Damon didn't want him to rescue him, he told Jeremy they should stay away, but Stefan just couldn't do it. He knew Damon would be beyond pissed if he tried something reckless and stupid, but he couldn't give him up without trying. He grabbed for one of the blood bags Elena brought. He needed to be as strong as possible.<em>

_Carol was walking towards the stage. She prepared another short speech for the people of Mystic Falls and it was almost dawn. "Mom!" Tyler grabbed her arm. "You still have the time to stop this." He hissed. Carol gave him a pitiful look. "I'm so sorry, but I can't. He is a monster, Tyler. A wild creature, a savage if you like. He is not a human, not like you and me."_

_Tyler wondered how his mother would react if she would find out he was a werewolf. "Mom, I'm begging you. I know you think you do something good, but this is wrong. Dad would've never –"_

"_Don't you dare bring your father into this! He died because he protected this town from creatures like that!" She yelled. _

_Tyler just wanted her to know how wrong she was. Carol walked away from Tyler. "I have to go. The people want to see the monster dead."_

_Tyler disappeared into the crowd. He needed to find Caroline._

* * *

><p><em>John was watching the scene in front of him. So many people came to see Damon die, he felt like he was in some other time were people were still burning witches. He thought of Elena. She would hate him for what he did, but he just couldn't react differently. It was for her best, he told himself.<em>

_He looked at Damon, who looked miserable. John never thought he would see Damon Salvatore like this one day. He should've felt satisfied by this image, but somehow he couldn't._

* * *

><p><em>Caroline made her way through the crowd. She needed to find the others. Even if Damon didn't want them to do something, there was no way she let him die. <em>

"_Caroline!" Matt said and waved at her. Caroline rolled her eyes. Matt was really one of the last persons she needed right now. "Hey, Matt." She said in a hurry._

"_This is unbelievable, isn't it?" He said amazed. "I never thought vampires would exist and then…Damon and Stefan…I'm so shocked. They are monsters…they kill people."_

_Caroline couldn't believe how dimwitted Matt was. He clearly believed everything Carol Lockwood told them. She locked at the stage. The view of Damon made her wanting to cry, or kill. "This is so wrong." She whispered, ignoring the fact that Matt was still there._

"_What is wrong?" Matt asked and raised an eyebrow._

"_This whole execution thing!" She snapped. "He is not a monster!"_

_Matt didn't understand why Caroline defended him. He was not human at all. "Caroline, I think this is cruel too, but he is not even human. I mean he's a vampire, doesn't that make him already dead?"_

_Caroline shook her head. "Shut up, Matt. Don't talk about things you don't understand." She said and left him alone._

* * *

><p><em>Jenna squeezed Alaric's hand. "This is sick." She said. Alaric nodded. "I wish we could do something, but there are deputies everywhere." He whispered. He secretly hoped for Stefan to show up to distract them, but he didn't count on it anymore. It was almost dawn.<em>

"_Where is Elena?" He asked Jenna._

_Jenna shook her head. "I don't know. Hopefully she is not doing something stupid."_

_Alaric sighed. Knowing Elena that was exactly what she was doing. He glanced at Damon. There had to be away to stop this in the last minute._

* * *

><p><em>Carol climbed at her podium. "My fellow people." She started, "Today is a big day in the history of Mystic Falls. We will give a sign to the world and the monsters living in it, not to come here and bother our peaceful lives." She pointed at Damon. "That creature, that beast fooled all of us into believing he is one of us. A human. But he is not. He was threat to us, to our children and God only knows how many people he killed. But today this will stop." She raised her hand presented a giant stake. "This stake will be driven through is heart when the sun rises. This monster will be no longer a danger to us. Some of you might think our actions are cruel and inhuman, but let me reassure you, that this thing, is not human at all. He is already dead inside! Death to the monster!" <em>

_The crowd cheered and Carol left her podium._

* * *

><p>"<em>That's enough!" Bonnie said and shook her head. "I'm going to enchant all of them, I don't care if they know what I am!" She said angrily.<em>

_Jeremy couldn't believe Carol's words either. "It's almost time…but if we attack…we may hurt innocent people…Gosh I can't believe we don't know what to do. Where is Elena and where is Stefan?"_

* * *

><p><em>Elena panicked. The time was almost up and she couldn't get out of her room. She wanted to use the window, but John was smart enough to seal it from outside. She ran through her room, searching for something heavy. She rummaged around her desk and found a heavy paperweight that once belonged to her father. "Here we go." She said and smashed it through the window. She didn't care about the broken glass and climbed outside. <em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Present<strong>_

Elena runs faster and faster. She doesn't care who she pushes out of her way. "It's time." She hears Carol Lockwood's voice through a mike. She shakes her head. "No, no, no I can't be late." She says to herself.

She finally sees the little stage and Damon on it. She doesn't know where her friends are and if Stefan already showed up, but that is not what counts most right now. She moves forward and tries to reach the stage. Damon's eyes are closed and he looks like hell. Elena pushes a few bystanders away again and feels disgusted how people can actually watch a scenario like that.

She notices the giant stake in Carol's hands. "Oh no!" She almost screams. Carol hands the stake to Liz, who looks slightly remorseful, but Elena was sure she wouldn't change her mind all of sudden.

"It will end now!" Carol says and the people cheer.

Elena thinks her heart will stop beating any minute.

Liz raises her hand aims Damon's heart.

* * *

><p>"No!" Caroline screams through the crowd.<p>

Tyler watches his mother in horror and wishes for one time he just could transform into his wolf form by day.

Jenna buries her head at Alaric's shoulder. She can't watch it. Alaric is frozen.

Bonnie and Jeremy are pushing people away. They try to reach the stage to do something, but they both know it's too late.

Stefan rushes to the place. He just sees the stake and hopes Damon would have a secret master plan to escape, like he always did.

* * *

><p>Damon closes his eyes and smiles. He thinks of Elena the last time. He doesn't regret coming back to Mystic Falls, not even now, because otherwise he would have never met her. <em>Goodbye my love. <em>He says in thoughts.

* * *

><p>The people start to count as the stake almost reaches his heart. One. Two. Three.<p>

"NO!" Elena screams suddenly and jumps in front of Damon. She swings her arms around his neck and presses her body against his.

Liz immediately stops and the crowd catches their breaths.

Her friends are shocked, but glad something happened.

Carol Lockwood needs a moment to understand what just happened. She grabs Elena's shoulders and tried to get her away from Damon. "Elena, child, you need to back off!"

Elena turned her head around. "No damn way." She says coldly. Damon blinks at her. "Elena? " He can't even believe she is there. To him, it's like an angel appeared right in front of his eyes. "What are you doing?" He asks weakly. Elena softly strokes his head. "Shh. I'm here and I will not let them do anything to you." She whispers.

"Elena, you need to go away." Liz demands but Elena doesn't move. Carol tries again to push her off of him, but Elena just slaps her hand away. "You don't know what you're doing." Carol said. "We need to kill him now!"

Elena stands up and faces Carol and the crowd behind her. "No. If you kill him, you have to kill me to!" She says and stands protective in front of him. "Elena, don't…" Damon says.

The crowd is shocked. Elena can tell from all the shocked noises around her, but she doesn't care. "Elena, stand back." Carol says. "You don't know what you want, he must have compelled you."

Elena laughs bitterly. "You think I'm compelled?" She grabs her necklace and throws it in front of Carol's feet. "Check it out, it's filled with vervain."

Liz orders a deputy to look at the necklace, when he confirms the vervain in it, Liz is confused. "She is not under compulsion."

Carol shakes her head. "But child, why are you protecting him? He is not even human, he is a monster, he needs to be destroyed."

Elena knees down next to Damon and presses his head against her chest, he almost loses his consciousness. "Because I love him." She says and Damon thinks he is already dead and somehow in paradise. She really loves him. _Him. _It was too good to be true.

"You love him?" Carol said and thinks she missed something.

Elena nods. "I do. I love him more than anything in the world. I don't care if he is a vampire, he is the man I fell in love with and I was so stupid not saying this earlier."

"He is a monster. Not capable of love." Liz says.

"And that's where you're wrong." Elena says softly. "Look around you. Whole Mystic Falls is here to watch a pure act of hate and fear. Good people want to see someone, who protected them without their knowledge die. You are all just afraid, because you don't understand. Yes, he is a vampire, but he is not so different from us. You need to stop just seeing what makes him different, see behind it. He is just like you and me."

Damon wishes he could say anything to her. That he is touched by her words and that he loves her, too, but he is too weak.

"You know what?" Elena says and almost smiles. "I'm the doppelganger of a 500 years old psycho vampire and my blood has some special powers. Makes me that a monster, too?"

Carol is speechless. Liz doesn't know what to do. And the crowd doesn't know what to think anymore.

Suddenly Stefan appears next to Elena. "I went to school with most of you. You all know me and I never harmed any of you or acted different, why am I suddenly a monster?" He asks and shot Damon a little smile.

Bonnie and Jeremy finally making it to the stage. Bonnie raises her hand. "I'm a witch!" She says and creates a small fireball in her hands.

"I have a ring that keeps me from dying." Jeremy says like it's the most normal thing in the world and shows his ring.

Liz shoots Carol a helpless look. "What should I do?" She asks. "I cannot arrest all of them."

"Then don't" Caroline appears next to her mother and nods at her. "Caroline, where did you come from?" Liz asks confused.

Caroline takes a deep breath and spots Matt briefly in the crowd. Then she vamps out for a moment. Liz stumbles backwards. "No…not you…" she says in disbelief.

"I'm one of them, Mom." She says. "And I like it, it makes me a better person."

Caroline then feels an arms around her waist. She looks up and notices Tyler holding her.

"Tyler go away from her!" Carol commands and Tyler just chuckles. "No chance, Mom. Besides I'm a werewolf, thanks to Dad's great genes."

Carol's eyes are wide open. She thinks she passes out. "My son…is a…" Liz catches her before she reaches the ground.

Alaric storms on the stage, Jenna follows him. "I'm a vampire hunter!" He confirms and some of his students are actually impressed.

"You see…" Elena says, "Many of us are not quite normal, but we chose a path that isn't built on hate. What do you choose?" She asks.

* * *

><p>It is late at night in Mystic Falls and Elena sits on Damon's bedside. She can't believe what happened today. After they all "confessed" their little secrets everything got out of control. It took Sheriff Forbes four hours to stop the people from screaming and running like hell. Well, some actually said they think vampires and werewolves are pretty cool and Alaric got immediately more respect from his students.<p>

After Carol woke up, Tyler tried to calm her down, but it actually needed a "mood spell" from Bonnie to make her stop screaming and crying.

Elena doesn't even know what happened then. Liz got a change of heart after discovering Caroline was a vampire and decided to release Damon.

Stefan brought him back to the Boarding House and fed him blood until he passed out.

Damon slowly opens his eyes. "Hey, kitten." He says and smirks at her. Elena can't even breathe. She nearly jumps on Damon and hugs him deeply. "Thank God you're awake!"

He sits up and laughs. "Thanks to you." He hasn't forgotten her words from earlier. "How long was I out?" He asks.

Elena looks briefly at the clock in his room. "Almost twenty hours." She says and Damon is surprised. "What happened? I remember you all jumping on stage and telling the town how freaky you are."

Elena doesn't stop touching him. "Well, it was a chaos for hours and I still don't know what will happen tomorrow, but the council will meet, with us, and discuss where do we go from here." Elena hopes they will find a solution they all can live with. Something that doesn't include 'killing'.

"So…" Damon whispers and leans his forehead against hers. "I can't believe you really needed a global crisis to say that you love me."

Elena blushes and pushes away a bit, to look into his eyes. "Don't complain about that. If someone should complain it should be me. I didn't even get anything back." She teases.

Damon laughs. "I knew I forgot something. I looooveee youuuu." He chants and Elena raises and eyebrow. "Really? I give you that perfect heartfelt speech and all I got is…this?"

"To be fair, you gave the speech to the whole town, not exactly to me." Damon says.

Elena rolls her eyes. She leans forward and their lips are almost touching. "Fine. I love you Damon and the thought of losing you…I couldn't breathe…I….I can't imagine being even one second without you. You are all I want, I love you so much."

"And I love you." His lips briefly brushing hers, but it's not a real kiss, Elena doesn't want to wait anymore, but she knows he has something else to say. "See, the only thing I really regretted when I thought I was dying was that I never got the chance to tell you how much I love you. That we never got the chance to see what we could've been."

Elena smiles. "Well, we should find it out then."

He softly presses his lips on hers and she feels like the world stops spinning. They don't care what tomorrow brings as long as they are together.

_**The End**_


	10. So Close

**AN: Thank you again for the great reviews on the last One Shot. I'm so happy about the great response. So, I'm kinda suffering from some bitchy writer's block and this chapter is okay (in my eyes), but I'm not 100 % satisfied with it.**

**I chose the song "So Close" from Enchanted (yes...Enchanted again...I'm very creative XD) and it's such a beautiful song and great scene in the movie. I think I have a thing for Delena dances XD Anyone else so anxious about the season finale tonight? I really hope for one good Delena scene (that is not a hallucination -.-) I hope you'll enjoy that chapter.**

**I would love to get some comments :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.  
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_**So Close**_

Elena smiled as Stefan slowly moved with her over the dance floor. He was a good dancer. Nothing special, but okay. Elena enjoyed the harmony and calmness for one evening.

It was Mystic Falls' annual 'Under The Stars Dance' another great invention of the one and only Carol Lockwood. Why Mystic Falls needed another dance event? No one knew. Since when it was annual? No one knew. Elena didn't care anyways. She enjoyed it to have some time apart from all the craziness in her life.

Her dress was light pink and she felt like a princess. Stefan looked good in his suit and according to Carol, they were adorable. Elena sighed. Sometimes it felt like she was under a big pressure always being the golden girl to Stefan's golden boy and she wished for a little time out.

"So, my dear dancers." Carol spoke into her mike. "Now it's time for the 'switch your partner dance'. You heard me; everyone will dance with someone who is _not _his date. Have fun!" Carol seemed satisfied with herself and even if Stefan didn't understand the matter of this dance he briefly kissed Elena's cheek and walked over to Caroline. "I'll be back."

Caroline was more busy kissing Tyler than dancing, but she smiled as Stefan asked her. Elena bit her lip. She wanted to ask Tyler to dance, but he already was with Bonnie. She looked around. Jeremy danced with Jenna and Alaric was captured by Carol Lockwood herself. Elena giggled at his painful expression. She tried to find Matt but he was nowhere to be found.

"May I have this dance?" A smooth voice asked from behind. Elena turned around and looked into Damon's fabulous blue eyes. She gulped. That man shouldn't be allowed to wear a suit. Elena's mouth was dry looking at him. He was absolutely stunning. He reached his hand out, a cocky smirk on his face. Elena hesitated for a moment. Then she took his hand and smiled. "I would love to."

He softly kissed her hand. "Miss Gilbert." He said and Elena laughed. "Mr. Salvatore."

He guided her to the dance floor and to Elena it felt immediately right being with him. She looked over her shoulder and glanced quickly at Stefan. He didn't seem happy about her choice of a dance partner.

They stood in front of each other and it reminded her suddenly of the Miss Mystic Falls competition and their first dance.

"_You're in my arms,_

_And all the world is calm,_

_The music playing on for only two"_

The music started and Damon put his arms around her waist. She thought her heart stopped beating for a second as he touched her. She thought he noticed it to, because he chuckled silently.

They started to move to the slow rhythm and Damon guided her gracefully over the dance floor. Every step was in a perfect harmony. They just felt each other's presence and the music around them. The world outside was not existent anymore.

Damon would never tell her that, but the moment she touched him, his heart would've stopped too, if it was still beating.

"_So close together,_

_And when I'm with you,_

_So close to feeling alive"_

He pressed her tiny body nearer to his. She almost forgot to breathe. Damon softly stroked her back. Elena smiled at him and he smiled back. A real smile, a genuine smile, not a smirk or a grin. Being with her, looking into her eyes, holding her so close, let Damon almost forget what he was. He was no vampire. He was no killer. He was just a man, being the woman he loved more than anything else in this world.

"You look beautiful." He whispered into her ear and she blushed. Damon liked it that he had such an effect on her. "You don't look bad either." She said.

He slowly twirled her around. She trusted him completely. Every step was like magic.

She was shining in the starlight and Damon couldn't believe how wonderful she was. She felt soft and warm. He remembered the dances he shared with Katherine and thought it was ironical, in a way. Both girls, so similar and yet so different.

With one he danced while he was alive, but she made him dead inside, and with the other one he danced while he was dead and she made him feel alive again.

"_As life goes by,_

_Romantic dreams must die,_

_So I bid mine goodbye and never knew"_

She laughed and it was the purest sound he ever heard. "Where did you learn to dance like that?" She asked amazed. Stefan was okay, he knew the steps and how to guide her, but Damon made her feel the dance. Made her feel the music.

"Well, Elena…what can I say, I'm just gorgeous." He smirked and she shook her head. "If you have an eternity, you learn one or two things. I always enjoyed dancing, even back in the 1860's." He explained and she liked that answer better.

They floated light-footed over the floor. "It's kinda romantic." She said sweetly. "Damon Salvatore you have a romantic side." She giggled and Damon wished he could show her how romantic he could be. He watched her with Stefan and thought more than once that he would treat her differently. Not just like a girlfriend, but like a princess. She deserved romance and everything she dreamed of. But he knew he would never get the chance to show her. She would never know how he really felt about her. He told her once and made her forget. He loved her too much to burden her with his feelings.

She laid her head against his chest for a moment. She was so warm and smelled like peaches and sunflowers. How much he wished he could just tell her and see what they could be.

"_So close was waiting, waiting here for you,_

_And now forever I know,_

_All that I want is to hold you_

_So close"_

Elena enjoyed every moment of the dance. Being that close to him, feeling his hands on her skin, his hot breath in her face and his eyes locked into hers made her feel something she never thought she was capable of. It was amazing, so intense and scary in a way. She wanted to press her body even harder against his. She wanted him to put his arms around her and hold like there is no tomorrow.

Every thought of Stefan was blown off. There was no boyfriend. There were no other people. There was just a dance floor and her and Damon.

When she was a little girl and her mother read her fairytales before she went to sleep, she always dreamed of a prince and a dance like this. It felt like she waited forever to get it and now she was here, with Damon, dancing the perfect fairytale dance and wished it would never stop.

"_So close to reaching that famous happy end,_

_Almost believing this one's not pretend"_

He twirled her around again. They stopped dancing for a moment and just stared each other. There was so much reflected in both of their looks. Longing, joy, fear and love. He placed his hands around her again and the dance went on.

For a brief moment Damon thought she was all his. Her body, her heart and her soul.

For a brief moment Elena thought it was meant this way. Him and her, together until the end.

She closed her eyes and got lost. One step, only one step to make and she would get her fairytale ending.

He looked down at her lips. One kiss and he would get all he ever wanted.

But both of them knew that this was not the reality. He was not her prince and she would never be his princess. But even to pretend it for one second, made them happier than ever before in their lives.

"_And now you're beside me and look how far we've come,_

_So far we are so close"_

Damon couldn't believe how perfect that moment was. When he first met Elena Gilbert she was a curiosity, because of her resemblance to Katherine. He wanted to destroy her to destroy Stefan. Than something strange happened. He started to like her, to see her as a friend. And friendship turned into something more. He always thought he loved Katherine, but his love for Elena was so much more. He messed up countless times and still she always forgave him and let him in again. She was his redemption, his angel.

And now they were here, together so close and he didn't even understand how far they came to get there.

Elena couldn't believe how perfect that moment was. When she first met Damon Salvatore he was her boyfriend's big brother who turned out to be a maniac vampire. He killed and made her life miserable. But then something strange happened. They became friends. And friendship turned into more. Elena fought everyday against her feelings. Too much happened between them, many bad things they were both to blame for and yet she always was drawn back to him.

And now they were here, so close and she didn't even understand how far they came to get there.

"_How could I face the faceless days,_

_If I should lose you now?"_

Damon and Elena were lost so deep into each other that they didn't even notice that all eyes were on them.

The closeness between them was so strong, that everyone wondered, what was going on. Especially Stefan. He looked worried and scared and jealous. The way she looked at his brother, she never looked at him.

He slowly pulled away from Caroline. "I'm sorry, Care." He walked towards his girlfriend and his brother.

Caroline gave him an understanding smile and left the dance floor.

Stefan tapped Damon's shoulder. His brother turned around and looked like he just woke up from a dream. "May I cut in?" Stefan asked determined.

Damon glanced at Elena. She didn't move. Everything inside of her screamed 'No' but she wouldn't say anything.

Damon nodded and stepped aside. "Of course, brother." Every inch of his body ached not to let her go. Their hands touched briefly for a last time and he wished for nothing more than to pull her back and kiss her. But she wasn't his. She belonged with his brother and he needed to accept that.

Stefan smiled at Elena and put his hands around her waist. It didn't feel electrifying and her heart didn't stop beating. She wanted for Damon to come back. To pull her out of Stefan's arms and kiss her. But that would never happen. Damon wouldn't come and she wouldn't go. She belonged with Stefan that at least was what her mind told her. She wouldn't hurt him like Katherine did. She wouldn't break that bond between the brothers again. So she would smile and dance.

Stefan twirled her around, but there was no magic and no fairytale atmosphere. It was just a dance.

"_We're so close,_

_To reaching that famous happy end,_

_Almost believing this one's not pretend,_

_Let's go on dreaming for we know we are_

_So close"_

Damon ordered a drink and watched Elena finishing the dance with Stefan. He could still feel her body close to his. Both of them merge into one person on the dance floor. He could see her eyes, telling him that she never wanted them to stop and wishing for the same things he did.

Elena looked over Stefan's shoulder. She didn't want eye contact with him. She searched for Damon. Their eyes were locked again the moment she saw him. And then she started to pretend. She pretended that she was still dancing with Damon and not with Stefan. That she had their moment back and were close to him again. And for a second she believed it. Stefan's touch made her feel the reality again. He was not Damon and he would never be.

The music stopped and they left the dance floor. As they passed Damon, he gave her a small smile.

She didn't know if they would ever be that close again, but she could dream about it, knowing he would do the same.

She had her arm linked with Stefan. He was talking to Tyler for a moment and Elena reached automatically her hand out. Damon did the same. Their fingertips touched for a second before Stefan started to walk again, pulling Elena with him.

"_So close_

_And still so far"_

_**The End**_


	11. Reflection

**AN: ****I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. I have some back troubles and then my PC crashed down and I'm now working with a temporary replecament...that sucks XD Thank you for reviewing the last chapter, I'm glad you liked it. This time I used the wonderful song "Reflection" from Mulan. One of teh best Disney songs and movies in my opinon (who doesn't love Mushu? XD). I'm satisfied with this chapter. It's mostly focusing on Elena her feelings and I hope you'll like it.**

**I'd love some comments :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.  
><strong>

_**Reflection**_

"_Who is that girl I see_

_Staring straight back at me_

_When will my reflection show_

_Who I am inside"_

Elena stared into the mirror. She sighed. She knew she should like what she was seeing, but somehow she didn't. Her hair was curly and pinned-up. It looked like the hair of a Greek goddess and Elena thought Caroline surpassed herself with that hairstyle. She turned her head and looked at her face from all perspectives. There was so much make up on it. Her lips were bright red and her skin looked almost pale. She didn't argue when Stefan told her he hired an exclusive make up artist to help her, but she didn't look like herself at all. She stood up. She already saw herself 'complete' but she needed to see it again to believe it was really true. Standing up wasn't actually that easy. Her dress was long, and wide and unpractical. It had a very long train and Elena wasn't sure she could even walk with it. Jenna tried to calm her down before. She said a dress like that needs to be fancy and not practical. Somehow Elena doubted the truth behind her words. She walked a few meters. How the hell should she dance in that thing? She stretched her legs as good as possible. Her feet were already hurting. She hadn't fitting shoes for the dress and really didn't want to buy some, even if Stefan said he would pay for them, so she borrowed some from Bonnie, the problem just was that Bonnie had smaller feet than Elena.

She bit her lower lip and hoped she wouldn't ruin the lipstick. She hated the way it tasted. She looked through her room. It was almost time. She sighed again and her eyes fell on the bouquet on the table. It was full of white roses. Elena didn't like white roses so much, she wasn't even sure why she chose a bouquet like this. She always thought if 'that day' would ever come, she would have a bouquet full of colored gerbera and a single sunflower. He eyes were fixed on the flowers. She remembered. Stefan said it would fit her and the occasion.

She looked at the watch. Caroline would pick her up in less then ten minutes. These were her last moments as a single lady. Her last moments as Elena _Gilbert_. Soon she would be Elena _Salvatore_. Mrs. Stefan Salvatore. She tried to smile. She should smile thinking about her groom. Thinking about her wedding. But her stomach turned. She tried to tell herself that she was just nervous, but she knew deep inside that it wasn't right.

She was 22 now and just finished college. Even before graduation Stefan asked her to marry him. He did the full program. He invited her to a fancy dinner, went down on one knee and presented her a breathtaking diamond ring. Of course she accepted. How could she say no? Her family loved Stefan. Her friends adored him. And she? Of course there was no way she doubted that they were meant to be. That was what she told herself for years now. Every night before she went to sleep. Like a mantra.

Jenna freaked out when Stefan and Elena announced their engagement and Caroline immediately started to plan the wedding. Stefan wanted it to be perfect for Elena. The classical 'every girl's dream wedding'. So he spent a lot of money for accessories and fancy things and invited the whole town. Their wedding could easily top some of Carol Lockwood's town events and Elena wasn't sure she wanted that. She always pictured her wedding small and personal, just with the people she loved. But that was what Stefan wanted for her and she would play along. Everyone was excited and she couldn't disappoint them.

A knock on the door pulled Elena out of her thoughts. Caroline entered with a smile on her face. She wore a light pink dress, another thing Elena didn't understand. Why were the bridesmaid dresses pink? She told Stefan sarcastically that Caroline and Bonnie should wear the classic pink, because she never was fond of that, but somehow Stefan didn't get the joke.

"You look fabulous." Caroline smiled and hugged her friend. Elena smiled back, a bit forced though. She didn't feel like she looked fabulous. She felt like she looked like a porcelain puppet. "Thanks Care, you look amazing, too."

Caroline laughed. "Aren't I always?" She joked and grabbed Elena's bouquet. "Let's go. Bonnie is waiting downstairs. You can't miss your wedding."

Elena just nodded. Stefan was waiting for her. Everyone was waiting for her. She followed Caroline out of the house and greeted Bonnie who looked absolutely stunning. Jeremy's eyes would be popping out of his head. They headed to the car. Stefan rent a limo that should drive them to the church. Elena felt uncomfortable. She thought it would be too much and didn't fit them, but he meant it well.

The streets of Mystic Falls were empty. But how could anybody be on the streets if they were all waiting for her at the church? She hated it to be in the center of so much attention.

Caroline and Bonnie were chatting cheerfully on the way. Bonnie was nervous about her speech at the celebration later on and Caroline was suspicious that Tyler would probably propose to her soon. Elena listened and was silent on the way. She watched the empty streets and thought about her and Stefan's relationship during the past years.

They met. They kissed. They confessed their love for each other. They fought, but not much and broke up because of Katherine. They got together again, defeated Klaus and attend the prom. They graduated and went to Duke together. His kisses were sweet and the sex was alright. So, what was missing? Elena suddenly felt a sadness running through her. She knew by heart what was missing and why she didn't felt excited or over the top happy about the wedding. Suddenly Caroline handed her a small mirror. "We're here. You wanna check your reflection a last time?" She asked and Elena nodded. She looked into the mirror a last time and didn't recognize the woman looking back at her. That woman didn't look like her. She looked like a fake, outside and inside.

She left the limo and met Alaric in front of the church. He smiled and hugged her deeply. "You look so beautiful, Elena." He whispered into her ear. Elena smiled briefly. "Thank you, Ric. For doing this." Alaric kissed her softly on the forehead. "You're welcome."

Alaric married Jenna three years ago and they were expecting their first child now. Elena couldn't be happier for them. Since John's and her relationship was more than strained she asked Alaric to walk her down the aisle. He happily accepted and was honored to play that part for her.

Bonnie and Caroline walked inside the church. Elena could get a little glimpse of what was going on inside. She briefly saw Jenna, wearing a blue dress with her already swollen tummy. She spotted Matt who was Stefan's best man and Tyler who was the second groomsman. She saw Jeremy next to Jenna, he looked good in his tux. And of course the whole town was there. Carol Lockwood, Sheriff Forbes, some former fellow students and of course everyone who lived in town. Except for one. She didn't expect him to come, but it still saddened her he wasn't there. But how could she even ask him for that? He looked shattered when they told him about the engagement. Elena almost expected him to leave town and that she would never see him again, but he stayed. Why she didn't know.

"Shall we?" Alaric asked and offered Elena his arm. She smiled. "Of course."

They opened the door of the church and walked inside. The traditional wedding march was playing and Elena wanted to roll her eyes. She was never the traditional kind of girl and never understood why people liked that march anyways. She wished for something different, something new, but Stefan liked it traditional. That was one of the reasons why they didn't spend the night before the wedding together.

Elena and Alaric walked down the aisle. She heard 'Ah's' and 'O's' from everywhere and even if she felt flattered she wanted to be invisible.

She tried to focus on Stefan. She thought when she would look at him, all her fears would go away. That's what it should be like. So she searched for his eyes. He wore a black suit and a bow tie. Elena found the bow tie somehow ridiculous but she wouldn't laugh now. His green eyes were sparkling and he was smiling at her. He looked good. He already reached his hand out and suddenly everything was in slow motion for Elena.

Stefan tried his best to make her happy, by doing all the stuff possibly most girls would like. But she didn't. He didn't know her. He didn't know what kind of person she really was, even after that much time they spent together. He didn't even notice she looked like a total different person right now. In her mind she screamed at him. She told him she didn't like the dress, the music, that all the people were there. And she told him that she loved him, but not the way you should love the person you were about to marry. She missed passion and anger and bantering and cockiness and sarcasm and blue eyes.

She suddenly felt Stefan's touch. Her hand was in his. Alaric turned back to Jenna and sat down. Stefan grinned and whispered "I love you."

The priest started to talk and the whole church was silent. Elena though she would pass out every minute. "Stop…" she mumbled but no one seemed to hear. Automatically she pulled her hand back and Stefan looked at her with confusion. The priest stopped. "Is everything okay, Miss Gilbert?"

The audience listened up. Jenna eyed her suspiciously and Caroline leaned closer. "What's wrong?" She whispered. Elena thought her heart would jump out of her chest. She faced Stefan who didn't understand anything. "I'm sorry." She said and before Stefan could react, she ran. She kicked the shoes aside and ran like hell. "Elena!" She heard Stefan yell after her, but she didn't care. She couldn't do it. She just couldn't.

She ran and ran and ran. She didn't even know the direction she chose, her feet were walking alone. After a felt eternity she stopped. She was in front of the Boarding House, like it was destiny that her feet brought her there.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She already screwed everything up, so she could take the last step. No one opened. She knocked again, this time with desperation and anger.

The door opened and she looked into the eyes of a very confused Damon. "Elena?" he asked and thought he would be dreaming. "What the –" He couldn't finish his sentence. Elena threw herself into his arms and started to cry. Damon was helpless. He put his arms around her and moved them inside. "I couldn't! I just…I just…I…" She was out of breath. Damon stroked her hair softly. "Shh…shh…it's okay." He whispered. He couldn't see her crying. "It's okay sweetie, everything is okay."

Elena finally calmed down after a few minutes and looked at Damon. The make up was completely blurred and she knew she looked horrible. Damon softly drained her tears. "What happened?" He asked concerned. Elena didn't even know how to start. "It didn't feel right from the beginning. That whole wedding it was just not me. I never wanted any of this fancy stuff and I knew Stefan thought he would do me a favor, but he just..."

"He doesn't know you the way he should." Damon finished her sentence and she nodded. Damon mustered her from head to toe. "That dress looks silly. No offence, but you look just not like you." Elena wasn't even surprise that Damon shared her opinion. He knew her. In every way. He always did. He brought her the best presents for birthday. He didn't need to ask what she liked to eat when they ordered something. They didn't need to talk with words, because they understood each other with simple glances.

Elena snuggled against his chest. "It's not always going to be Stefan." She said calmly and Damon looked at her in surprise. "What changed your mind?"

"Nothing." She said and he started to play with her fingers. "It was never from the beginning. Five years ago you were in my bedroom and told me I would lie to everyone. To you, to Stefan and mostly to myself." She paused a moment and studied his face. He looked confused, surprised and in a way hopeful. "You were right. I'm sorry I almost needed to marry him to see."

Damon placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "What should we do now?" He asked. She shrugged and searched for his eyes. "I don't know. I want to go away for a while I guess. Can you take me to Georgia one more time?"

He smiled. "I would take you to Georgia every time you ask me to do." He leaned closer, there lips were almost touching. "Where do _we_ go from here? And I don't mean any travel plans."

She could feel his hot breath against her skin and shivered. For the first time this day, she felt like herself again. She felt good and was exactly where she wanted to be. "We'll see." She softly pressed her lips on his and both knew it was the start of something.

* * *

><p><em><strong>3 Years later<strong>_

Elena ran through the room like a wild animal in a cage. She was freaking out. She looked into the mirror for a hundred times and twitched at her hair. It was lightly curled and open. She loved it like this. Her make up was simple and Caroline was proud of her work. She walked through the room. It was almost time and she couldn't wait anymore. She looked at her dress. It was simple, white and made of silk. It felt so good on her skin. She bit her nails. A knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts. Bonnie and Caroline entered the room, both wore beautiful blue dresses Caroline designed by herself and giggled. "Elena, you look amazing." Bonnie said and hugged her. Caroline grinned. "Girl, make us proud and don't run this time." She joked. Elena shot her a death glare. Of course she wouldn't run. She couldn't wait to get married. Caroline was annoying her since she announced her engagement with 'marriage advice' since she and Tyler married a year ago. Now she was the expert.

Bonnie grabbed her arm. "C'mon, let's go. You know your future husband, if he gets impatient he probably kills someone."

Elena reached for her bouquet. Gerbera and a single sunflower. It looked amazing.

Elena followed Bonnie and Caroline down the stairs. Everyone was already waiting outside. They decided to get married in the garden of the Boarding House, only with a few friends and a priest. Caroline and Jenna organized a little party afterwards at the Grill and Elena was perfectly happy with that. Bonnie and Caroline went outside and Elena calmed herself down for a moment. Suddenly she was afraid she would stumble or stutter. "Everything is okay." She said to herself. She thought she would explode of happiness if that was even possible.

She thought about the proposal. It was typical Damon. They lay in bed, naked of course, and suddenly he held that beautiful ring, with a heart on the top in font of her and said 'Marry me' it wasn't even a question. Elena giggled at the memory.

She slowly walked towards the backdoor, this time in comfortable shoes. She would walk down the 'aisle' alone, since the only to men who could probably walk her were busy. Alaric was the best man and Jeremy the second groomsman. But Elena was fine with that. She didn't want to stick to traditions anyways. She proved that the night before, when she and Damon had hot 'pre-marriage' sex instead of staying away from each other. She smiled. The wedding night would be a 'thing'.

She took a first step outside. The sun was shining and the weather was picture perfect. The music started, an instrumental version of Taylor Swift's 'Love Story'. Elena chose it personally, she loved the song and Damon always bragged about his _unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift_. She smiled and looked at the people around her. Matt and his new girlfriend, Liz Forbes, a few friends from school and college, John, Tyler, Jenna with little Miranda and of course her bridesmaids and the groomsmen. Stefan wasn't there. He disappeared shortly after the last wedding disaster and Elena hadn't heard from him since then. She looked at Damon. He was smiling and looked gorgeous. A black suit. Not a bow tie. His eyes were dazzling. Elena wanted to kiss him already. She didn't know how she could even survive the next minutes without kissing him. She walked towards him, he reached his hand out. Elena didn't hesitate a second to grab it. "You look beautiful." He whispered. Elena giggled. "You don't look bad either."

The priest started to speak and Damon whispered a simple "I love you" into her hear. Elena grabbed squeezed his hand. "I love you, too."

She couldn't wait to be Mrs. Salvatore this time, because it felt right. She knew she would wake up in the morning, next to her new husband, she will look into the mirror and her reflection will smile at her.

_**The End**_


	12. A Star Is Born

**AN: I'm really really sorry I didn't write for such a long time and I have like a hundred reason why I haven't but I won't annoy you with it. Just forgive, I'm really sorry guys. **

**In this chapter I used one of my favorite songs from the movie 'Hercules' I just love it. The atmosphere, the scene and just everything XD Uhm...it isn't just a Delena One Shot this time, I included basically everyone so they all have their moments to shine, but don't worry it has some significant Delena scenes (of course). Please overlook the spelling mistakes, it's in the middle of the night and I can't get myself to re-read it XD **

**Oh, another thing: Since I have this endless list of Disney songs and from other animated movies, I will take requests from now on, if you want me to use a special song next, just tell me ^.-**

**I really hope you will enjoy that chapter and please leave some comments it aways makes my day a little brighter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Sadly.**_**  
><strong>_

_**A Star Is Born**_

The sun was starting to rise over Mystic Falls. There was destruction everywhere. Broken windows, almost fully destroyed houses, fallen trees. On the streets were dead bodies. People who were innocent. People who didn't had anything to do with the supernatural war that was going on. And there were bodies of the bad guys. A dozen of killed hybrids who followed their leader until the very end. It was silent. There was not a single sound. Until…

"_Gonna shout it from the mountaintops_

_A star is born"_

"Is it over?" Carol Lockwood slowly crawled out of the corner she was hiding in, followed by some frightened Mystic Falls citizens. She looked around. So many people were dead, but gladly she couldn't see her son's body lying anywhere.

"I think it is, Mayor Lockwood." A middle-aged man said.

Carol breathed heavily. Ever since the hybrids under Klaus attacked the town, she tried to keep her people save, but she didn't believe the day would come it would finally end. "It's OVER!" She shouted happily and more people joined her on the street.

"_It's a time for pulling out the stops_

_A star is born"_

"Carol!" Sheriff Liz Forbes cried as she reached her mayor and friend. "Are you okay?" Carol smiled and pulled the surprised Liz into a hug. "I'm fine and as I see you're too."

Liz nodded. "I can't believe this terrible fight is finally over. My deputies and I tried to keep as many people save as we could, but we lost some. I'm sorry." She looked to the ground, ashamed since she felt she failed in her role as sheriff. Carol shook her head. "It's not your fault, Liz. You couldn't have done anything. None of us could. But finally we can tell everyone that they're safe again." She needed to repress her tears. She almost felt happy for the first time in months, but one thing was missing, her son.

"It's all to the kids." Liz said and Carol could tell she wouldn't be happy until she saw Caroline healthy and alive as well.

Liz then turned to the people who concentrated themselves around them. "You don't need to worry anymore." She said and gave them a relieved smile. "You can finally have your lives back, we all can. The nightmare is over."

"_Honey, hit us with a halleluia _

_The kid came shining through"_

"MOM!" Caroline screamed to the crowed and before Liz could even react her daughter hugged her like there was no tomorrow. "Mom….I'm so glad you're okay. I saw all the dead bodies and I…I…." Caroline started to cry. Liz softly stroked her back. "It's okay, I'm fine…and you're fine." She slowly pulled away and touched Caroline's cheeks. "You did it…you all did it, right?" She asked. "You killed that Klaus guy…" Caroline wasn't even able to response, everything was still blurry and didn't feel real. She looked around. People where everywhere. Confused, still frightened, wounded, but to her surprise everybody seemed happy. She never thought that day would come. When Klaus slowly lost his mind more and more and decided to march directly into Mystic Falls to get his precious doppelganger, she lost all hope. She was one-hundred percent sure she and everyone she loved and cared about would die in this last fight. How wrong she was.

"Caroline!" She turned around and saw Bonnie running in her direction. She looked tired and messy. She was followed by an Alaric who looked even worse. He held his arm and walked with a limp, but he smiled.

She circled the place and from another direction she spotted Jeremy who half carried a wounded Anna with him and a few meters behind him she spotted Tyler. "Tyler!" She cried and speeded towards him. She almost jumped on him so he couldn't almost hold his balance. "Whoa, easy Care." He chuckled. Caroline didn't say anything she pressed her lips on his and kissed him with more passion than ever. Carol watched them from a far, a tear escaped her eye. Her son was fine and nothing else mattered.

Caroline didn't realize how long she and Tyler kissed. Not needing to breathe was something extremely good sometimes. "Vampire Barbie, Hybrid Ken, get a room."

Caroline pulled immediately away from Tyler and jumped on Damon. His shirt was almost ripped apart and he had wounds all over his body. "Damon!" she squeaked in an unbelievable high-pitched voice. Damon rolled his eyes. "Let go of me." He demanded. Caroline gave him an innocent look. "You're a jerk." She said playfully. Damon couldn't help but smile.

He closed his eyes for a moment. He was exhausted, behind exhausted and couldn't wait to get finally some rest. He felt like he hadn't slept in ages.

"You look tired." He turned around and his blue eyes met Elena's brown. "I am." He said and gave her a small smile. "I'm so proud of you." She said.

"Where's my brother?" Damon asked a bit worried. He hadn't seen Stefan since they were basically overrun by hybrids.

Elena pointed left from her. Stefan was leaning against a wall, his eyes closed. He seemed pretty injured. Next to him sat Rebekah, staring straight forward.

Damon was relieved to see his little brother. He almost lost him to Klaus, he couldn't have dealt with the fact to lose him again.

Suddenly Caroline grabbed Elena's hand. "C'mon, let's meet with the others." She said.

"_Girl, sing the song_

_Come blow your horn_

_A star is born"_

Of course Damon couldn't get his rest like he wished to. No, the splendid one and only Carol Lockwood had nothing better to do than get a mike and start a celebration that Mystic Falls is finally a safe place again.

She held one of her endless speeches of the greatness of the townspeople, how they could overcome any evil and that there's no place like Mystic Falls.

"I'll bet she'll make another town's event out of this day." Damon whispered to Alaric. He chuckled. "And what would she call it? The _Hooray Klaus is dead Day_?"

Jeremy who heard the conversation laughed. "How about the _Ding Dong the Klaus is dead _Day?" He suggested.

Tyler shrugged. "Or we call it the _Day when we saved everyone's ass?_"

"I'll go with Gilbert's one." Damon said and patted Jeremy's back.

Carol finally seemed to finish her speech and just when the townspeople started to applaud she continued talking. "Well, there is something you should all know. We wouldn't have survived this terrible attack of those horrible monsters, if it weren't for a group of people who risked their lives for us. They did so many things…I can't even count how often they saved us without us even knowing what they were doing. I think that they…our _heroes_ deserve it to be celebrated today." She pointed in the direction her son and his friends were standing and started to clap her hands. "This applause his for you. We can never make up what you did for us." She said to them with a big smile on her face as the people started to clap and cheer with her.

"That's unbelievable." Elena said astonished.

"Yeah, it is." Bonnie replied and looked around. People she knew all her life were cheering for her, were calling her a hero.

"_He's a hero who can please the crowd_

_A star is born"_

"Alaric Saltzman." Carol said and signified him with a wave to join her in front of the townspeople. Alaric scratched his head and went forwards.

"History teacher and our own resident vampire hunter." She presented him.

_Alaric didn't know how he got into this mess. He was a history teacher who hunted vampires from time to time. That was it. Well, that certainly wasn't it since he was best friends with one and the surrogate father of a girl, who was the doppelganger of a another vampire, and a boy who could talk to ghosts, but still no one ever said something about fighting a war against an army of vampire-werewolf-hybrids who were really nasty to kill._

_He ran through the streets of Mystic Falls, searching for his friends. They got separated and he couldn't bear the thought of Elena and Jeremy being out there on their own. He almost couldn't believe how deeply he cared – no how much he grew to love the Gilbert children, like they were his own._

_He paused a moment, lost in his thoughts, when a scream brought him back to reality. He followed the voice into a side street. It was dark and he need to concentrate very hard to see something. There was a young girl, her back was pressed against the dirty wall of a house, in front of her one of Klaus' hybrids. It was the biggest hybrid Alaric had ever seen. He looked like stereotypical image of a school bully and Alaric guessed, he was something like that before he became a member of Klaus army of horrors. _

_He gulped. He knew he needed to rescue the girl, but was he able to kill a hybrid. He could paralyze them for a few moments, thanks to his new shells, filled with both vervain and wolfsbane. But to kill a hybrid was a different thing. The only thing that worked so far was ripping their heart out or behead them. More a Damon thing to do in other words._

_The girl screamed again. Alaric hadn't time to think of a good plan, he grabbed one of the shells. "Hey, dumbass" He yelled. The hybrid turned around and Alaric smashed the shell right into his face. The hybrid screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Alaric grabbed the girls hand and pulled her with him. "Hurry, he won't be out long." He said and tried to keep his voice low. The squeezed his hand. "You saved my life, thank you." She whispered._

Alaric stood in front of the crowd. The people were cheering and screaming his name. He recognized a few of his students and waved at them. He smiled awkwardly. The situation was kinda surreal. He was just a normal guy and yet people celebrated him like a hero.

"Alaric." The girl he saved stood in front of him and on closer consideration he realized the girl was more a young woman than just a girl. She had light-brown hair and bright green eyes. "I wanted to thank you again." She said and before he knew what happened she pulled him into a long kiss. The people cheered even more and Damon screamed the loudest.

"_Come on everybody shout out loud_

_A star is born"_

"Caroline Forbes, the sheriff's daughter, head-cheerleader and the most…how do you say that today? Badass vampire I know." Carol said cheerful. Liz watched proudly as her daughter walked forward.

_Caroline breathed heavily. Blood was dripping from her mouth. She watched the hybrid bitch in front of her. She smirked and was so sure she would win that fight. Of course, she was. How could a young vampire like Caroline ever defeat a hybrid?_

_Caroline looked around. She wished for Tyler to be there to help. Or Bonnie. Or Damon. Hell even Rebekah would be better than nothing. _

"_You're ridiculous." The hybrid bitch said in an arrogant voice. "Why even fight me when you know you have no chance?"_

_Caroline felt like crying. She didn't want to die. She wanted to tell her mother how much she loved her. She wanted to see what an eternity with Tyler could look like. She wanted cheer for Elena when she finally tells Damon she loves him. She wanted to buy ice-cream and cheesy movies for Bonnie once she had time to give into her sadness over the break-up with Jeremy._

"_You wanna know why fight you?" Caroline said in a strong voice and wiped the blood away. "Because I have people I love, people I want to protect." She kicked the hybrid into the stomach. She flew across the streets, surprised by Caroline's sudden strength. "You think I have no chance? Tell you what? You have none, 'cause you have no reason to really fight for your life."She grabbed the hybrid girl by her hair and smashed her head into the cold stone of the street. The hybrid screamed in pain. Caroline then took her arm and easily broke it. She heard how the bones inside were crashing. _

_The girl looked at her with nothing but disgust, blood all over her face. "You're just a silly Barbie doll. A sad excuse for a vampire." She spit in front of Caroline's feet._

_Caroline started to laugh. She almost couldn't get her act together again. "Why are you laughing?" The hybrid snapped. Caroline picked her up, the girl tried to kick her away, but Caroline easily held her. She smashed the girl against a parking car. "You know…" Caroline said and pressed her against the hood, "I'm proud to be __**Vampire Barbie**__!" Then she ripped the hybrid's heart out._

Caroline smiled like she just won the election for homecoming queen. She hugged Carol and waved a kiss to her mother. She didn't know when she was ever so proud of herself and she knew she had every right to be.

Knowing that she couldn't keep them away from each other any longer, Carol started to speak again. "He is…actually the most special person to me." Carol said, nothing but love in her voice. "He fought side by side with his friends, even if he was…in the temptation to let them down, but his strength and…" She briefly looked at Caroline, "Love for one girl kept him on the right path. And I am so proud of him. My son, Tyler Lockwood."

_Tyler was surrounded by hybrids. His own kind. Sometimes it was still hard to believe for him that he was actually Klaus's first succession. He still struggled with his strong urge to follow Klaus, it was like his blood told him to do, but he just couldn't. He needed to focus. To focus on Caroline. To focus on his friends._

"_You betray your own kind." One of the hybrids said. "You're one of us, not one of them. Klaus gave us a gift. He gave us the free will to turn or not. How can you fight against him?"_

_Tyler he knew that the hybrid had a few points. He was beyond thankful that he hadn't to turn anymore. He liked his new vampire abilities and he especially liked the fact that he could have an eternity with the woman he loved. But that, exactly that was the reason why he couldn't join Team Klaus._

"_I'm not one of you." He said in a low voice. "You said you're glad that you have the free will to turn and I have my free will to be with the people I care about."_

_Another hybrid, a boy his age, jumped on him, but Tyler easily wrestled him down. "I don't care if we're all the same kind. If you keep destroying this town, I swear I will kill all of you."_

Tyler speeded forward and lifted Caroline up. He whirled her around and both of them were laughing like little kids.

It was probably one of the most heart-warming moments everyone in Mystic Falls has ever watched. "We totally rock!" Caroline shouted and got nothing but more applause.

"_Just remember in the darkest hour_

_Within your heart's the power_

_For making you_

_A hero too"_

"He protected that town so many times and never really got a thank you. He, of all people had probably one of the hardest times the last months….Stefan Salvatore!"

Stefan didn't like it being the center of attention and not even the encouraging smiles of his friends couldn't help him feel more comfortable.

_Stefan sank down on his knees and held his head. The pain was just too much. He screamed and wished to rip his own head off. Klaus was standing only a few meters away from him, next to him laid Damon on the ground._

"_What are you waiting for, Rippah." Klaus said with a sardonic smile on his lips. "Kill him. I know you want it. Just do it."_

_Stefan slowly stood up. He didn't want to. It was like his body moved all on it's on. He tried to stop himself. Punched in his own face, bit his own wrists, just to stop. Klaus compelled him not to care, so it should've been easy for him to rip Damon's heart out, but he couldn't. Looking at his brother brought back memories, memories of days in the sun, of football games and pranks they played on their father._

"_Do it, Stefan!" Klaus demanded. He walked over to Damon and gave him a pitiful look. "How does it feel, when your own brother wants to rip your heart out of your chest?" He asked. _

_Damon still managed to put a smirk on his face. "You…you tell…me." He said weakly, obvious referring to Elijah. Klaus eyes were reflecting nothing but hate. "Kill him!" He yelled at Stefan._

_Stefan walked over to Damon. Screaming inside. He leaned over his brother. It was inner struggle against Klaus compulsion. It was like to sides of him were fighting with each other inside his head._

_Damon's smirk changed into a smile. "You…you're stronger than…him." Damon said. Stefan lifted his hand up ready to rip his brother's heart out. Again it seemed like his body was reacting on its own. "I know…you're stronger. You're my...my…annoying…brooding…baby brother…with the…hero hairdo." Damon laughed and closed his eyes._

_Stefan spent years avoiding Damon. He thought his brother hated him, but now he realized, his brother had always loved him. His hand flew towards Damon's chest, but it never reached it. Stefan grabbed his brother's arm and ran away._

_Klaus was left with perplexity. His compulsion had worn off._

Stefan smiled uneasy and searched for Damon's eyes. His brother shook his head. He didn't want to help him out of the situation, because Stefan deserved his few minutes as a hero as much as everyone else.

Then his gaze fell on Rebekah. She shot him a small smile.

"Uhm…Mrs. Lockwood. Can I have the mike for a sec?" He asked and Carol looked at him in confusion. "Sure, if you want to say something."

Stefan smiled politely and spoke inside the mike. "Uhm….I appreciate that you all being so…kind, but I think someone should be here with me, because she went almost through the same thing as I did, maybe worse. Come here, Rebekah." He said.

She looked at him in surprise. She didn't feel like being part of the group, but Stefan was too sweet trying to make her one of them.

"_I am your brother! I'm your family!" Klaus shouted._

"_You stabbed me and put me in a coffin for ninety years!" Rebekah shouted back. Klaus didn't seem impressed. "You betrayed me." He said full of anger and hurt._

_Rebekah shook her head. "I didn't betray you, I fell in love!"_

_Klaus speeded towards her and grabbed her throat. Rebekah coughed. "You chose him over me, that's what I call a betrayal. And you're doing it again." He threw her across the room. Rebekah fell rudely on the ground. Klaus walked across the room and shook his head. "I just can't believe you're doing it again!" He said._

_Rebekah stood up and looked at him. "I don't choose him over you." She said and tears started to run down her cheeks. "You lost your mind, you're out of control."_

_Klaus just laughed at her. "I am perfectly sane. You lost your mind."_

_She gazed softly at him. "No…you don't know what you're doing and I can't take it anymore. I love you Nick, you're my brother and I will always love you, but I will not stand by your side, watching you destroying yourself." She turned around and slowly walked away._

Rebekah took Stefan's hand. "You didn't have to do this." She whispered. Stefan smiled. "Yes, I did." He replied. "Because you belong here."

Rebekah lost her brother that day, but maybe she got another chance for a life and another chance with the man she loved.

"_So don't lose hope when you're forlorn"_

"Jeremy Gilbert, the bravest boy I have ever met." Carol said. "And his lovely girlfriend Anna." She added as Jeremy and Anna approached her.

_Jeremy stood in his room, looking outside the window. His arm was bleeding but he didn't care. He just got away from another attack. He used one of Alaric's self-made weapons to defend himself and luckily it was enough to leave the hybrid unconscious. He watched the neighborhood, everything looked like it always did. Peaceful and calm, almost boring you could say. But Jeremy knew it wasn't. Nothing was like before. Klaus was out there, crazier than ever, destroying everything and everyone that was standing in his way._

_Jeremy sighed. They all didn't know how to deal with it. Everyone was stressed out and frightened, they all lost their hope, even Caroline and that meant a lot. And what did he? He had the worst timing ever and broke up with Bonnie. Why? Because he was still in love with his dead ex-girlfriend he wasn't even able to see anymore._

_He closed his eyes and thought of Anna. Her eyes, her smile, he voice. "Jeremy." It was like he could hear her. "Jeremy." He smiled. He loved her voice and if he just could hear her in his dreams, so be it. "Jeremy!" Someone grabbed his arm. Jeremy immediately opened his eyes and saw Anna standing right next to him._

"_Anna?" He asked in confusion. "How is that possible? I thought you were gone forever this time? I thought I would never see you again? Wait, why did I see you again? Did I die again without noticing? Is that some strange dream? I didn't smoke anything weird, I –"_

_Anna pressed her finger on his lips. "Shh." She said softly and smiled at him. "You talk a way too much." She said and laughed a little._

_Jeremy touched her hands. He touched her before, but this time it felt different. More warm and alive than before. "How can I see you again?"_

_Anna softly stroked his cheek. "Because I'm not a ghost anymore." She said and his eyes widened._

"_You…you're not? But how…?" It was too good to be true. She was alive again? That must have been a dream. How in the world would he deserve a second chance with her?_

"_The witches showed me mercy. They said, if I will stand with in this fight against Klaus, we can be together again." She explained. "They –" But Anna couldn't finish her sentence Jeremy interrupted her with a deep kiss. How long did he wait to do that again?_

Jeremy put his arm around Anna and enjoyed the moment. She leaned against his chest. "Guess know that you're a hero everyone wants to be a part of you non-scene." She said.

Jeremy chuckled and pulled her closer. "I just want you to be part of my non-scene." He pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"_Just keep your eyes upon the skies"_

"Bonnie Bennett, our resident witch, who would do everything for this town and the people she loves." Carol said.

Bonnie thanked her for her kind words and looked at the townspeople. Sometimes she asked herself why she was doing all that, but seeing all of them happy and alive, reminded her why.

_Bonnie's whole body was shaking. Blood poured out of her nose, her eyes and mouth. She could barely speak anymore. Still she tried to whisper the spell as clearly as possible. She needed to do it, it was all on her, again._

_But this time she was on her own. No power of a hundred dead witches. No extra confidence. She, Bonnie Bennett was paralyzing Klaus, and that all on her own. She needed to hold him just a little longer, just so long that Damon could get away Elena from the scene and fight without worrying Klaus using her as leverage again._

"_I can do it" she told herself over and over again. It was like mantra inside of her head. She couldn't stop blaming herself for the situation. Ever since the sacrifice happened Bonnie thought that she had the power to kill him and that she didn't do it. Know they had a second chance and she would do whatever it would take to get rid of him once and for all._

_Ste stared at him, still whispering her words, but she knew she was getting weaker and he knew it too. He started to move again. "You're a big fail, witch." He said and Bonnie would secretly agree with that. _

_Her knew were getting weak and just when she thought she couldn't hold on any longer her strength was back. It was like a sudden rush of power through her whole body. "Don't worry, I'm with you." She heard Emily's voice inside her head._

Bonnie looked to the sky and enjoyed the fresh wind that was blowing around her. She smiled when she got a familiar feeling. "Thank you, Emily." She whispered.

"_Every night a star is_

_Right in sight a star is_

_Burning bright a star is born"_

"Elena Gilbert. What can I say about you?" Carol asked and Elena shot her a smile. "You've been through so much. I can hardly imagine what you have seen…how much pain you must have felt. How on earth did you get through all of this?"

Elena smiled. "I had someone with me all the way." She said and looked at Damon. "Someone who never let me down."

_Elena was stranding in the parlor of the Boarding House. She looked around, touched a few things and was lost in her memories. So much had happened since she first took a step into this house. So much good and so much bad. Klaus would come for her, she knew it. Destroying Mystic Falls was just is way too say hello. And when he would come, she would fight. This time she wouldn't just accept her destiny, she would fight back. And so would her friends. She knew they all would die to protect her. Damon would die to protect her. The thought alone broke her heart. They've been through so much together even for her it was hard to believe and she refused to let it end that way. Their story was just beginning it couldn't end with Klaus killing both of them._

"_What are you doing here? I thought you were home, practicing with Giles, the Watcher." Damon joked. Elena rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Buffy jokes in times like this?"_

_Damon shrugged. "It's never a bad timing for Buffy jokes." He said with a smirk. Elena laughed lightly. He was satisfied. He wanted to make her laugh, to make her forget everything that was happening around them._

"_Stefan is doing much better." He said then. He didn't even know why he said it. Ever since the compulsion broke, Damon waited for Elena to get back together with his brother, even if it would break his own heart. She deserved her happy ending. _

_Elena walked around, not reacting to his statement. "Here we met for the first time." She said nostalgic._

"_What?" Damon was a bit confused, he thought Elena would just be there to look for Stefan._

_She giggled. "I remember it exactly. I was looking for Stefan, but he wasn't home. The door wasn't locked so I just walked in. Then there was this creepy crow and suddenly you were standing behind me. You were charming and kissed my hand."_

_Damon smiled at the memory. "Actually was our first meeting at the graveyard. I scared you away." He chuckled and Elena joined him. "I ran straight into Stefan's arms." She said and Damon looked away._

_Elena slowly walked towards him and touched his cheek. She searched for his eyes. He looked hurt. "Did you ever thought what would have happened if I really had met you first? Like seeing you and talking to you?" she asked in an almost whisper. Damon touched her cheek too. "Everyday." He whispered back._

_Elena gave him a small smile. "I think it I still would've ended up with Stefan." He wanted to pull away, but Elena stopped him. "The Elena back then, was a sad girl who lost her parents and wanted to have her normality back. The Elena now, will fight for her life against a powerful, insane hybrid…she wants to win this fight so badly, because she wants nothing more than to be with you."_

_Damon couldn't hear the words she was saying. "What…I don't…I mean…" Damon Salvatore was never lost for words, but this girl managed to silence him completely._

_Elena leaned closer. Her lips were almost touching his. "If Klaus kills me….the only thing I would regret is never to see what we could've been. I wished I had said it earlier….really I do, but I was so scared because of what you make me feel…that I just couldn't give in. But that doesn't matter anymore. Not because of Klaus, I'm just…I'm just not scared anymore, because I…I love you so much it consumes me."_

_Damon leaned his forehead against hers. "Then lets don't waste another second." He said._

_Elena smiled. "Say it." She said softly._

"_I love you, Elena. And I really hope you will Buffy-kick-ass Klaus."He said and chuckled. Elena slapped his arm. "Your impossible."_

_Damon looked innocently. "And you wouldn't want it any other way."_

_Elena rolled her eyes. "Just kiss me already, Salvatore." As soon as she stopped speaking Damon's lips were on hers and she knew, that she was right where she ever belonged._

Elena couldn't get her eyes off Damon. She didn't know if had ever been so proud of someone on her whole life. They were all celebrated as heroes and Elena enjoyed it, of course she did since for the first time she was an active part of the fight, but still she knew who the true hero was.

_Like a beacon in a cold dark night_

_A star is born_

Katherine watched the whole celebrations from the sidelines and couldn't help but smile. She didn't even remember when she really smiled for the last time. For the first time in centuries she felt completely free and relaxed. She didn't need to run anymore. But even before Klaus death, she decided it had to stop.

"_Jeremy!" Damon shouted in panic. He tried to get to the Gilbert boy but another enemy stood right in front of him. Anna was already on the ground and could only watch the scene in front of her in horror. One of the hybrids grabbed Jeremy and was ready to torn him into pieces and without a whole body, the magic ring wouldn't work._

_Damon tried to fight the hybrid off but another one jumped on him, too. The others were all too far away. He couldn't let Jeremy die. _

_Suddenly the hybrid was thrown away and Jeremy landed softly on his feet. _

_Anna's eyes got wide. Damon threw the hybrid off of him and stared at her. Katherine. She smirked. "Hello, Damon."_

_Damon couldn't believe his own eyes. He thought that bitch was over the hills and as far away from Klaus as she could be. But there she was, saving the day._

"_What are you doing here?" He asked suspiciously._

_Katherine shrugged. "You really think I would've let my favorite partner in grave-digging die? Damon, Damon you're too sweet sometimes."_

_Jeremy almost laughed. "Thanks." He said and gave her a small smile._

"_No problem." Katherine replied. Then her gaze fell on Anna. She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were dead?"_

_Jeremy helped her back on her feet. "Back to life." She replied simply._

_Katherine didn't seem impressed at all. Damon crossed his arms. "Seriously, why are you back?" _

_Katherine rolled her eyes. "I'm back, because –" she reached behind Damon. A hybrid was just about to attack from behind and Katherine ripped his heart out like it was nothing. Damon stared at her in a slight shock._

"_I'm back, because someone has to save your sorry ass." She then looked serious. "I'm done running." She said honestly and Damon somehow knew he could trust her this time._

Katherine looked over to Damon and Stefan. They both glanced briefly at her. Stefan gave her a nod and Damon his trademark smirk. She knew that they still had all reasons to be pissed at her, but a new time was rising and who knew what the future would bring?

"_Told ya everything would turn out right_

_A star is born"_

Katherine turned around and smiled. "I told you so." She said as she looked at Elijah who was observing everything. He returned the smile. "Yes, Katerina. You told me everything would turn out to be good and you were right."

_Elijah's eyes flung wide open. He breathed heavily. His hunger was beyond everything he ever felt. He sat up. Confused, with a feeling to be out of place. He looked around, not recognizing the place where he was. He started to panic._

"_Drink this." A familiar voice said and handed him a blood bag. Without taking another look at the person he grabbed for the bag and started to drink. In his long existence blood never tasted that good. He slowly recovered. The colors were returning to his face in strength was coming back. _

_He started to think rational again. He looked again at the person who obviously removed the dagger from his chest. "You?" He said surprised._

"_Me." She with a sweet smile on her face._

"_Why did you help me?" He asked sincerely confused. She sat down and crossed her legs. "Klaus is on the loose. He's destroying Mystic Falls, he lost all common sense, if you ask me. They need your help." She explained seriously._

_He shook his head. "They wouldn't trust me again. After all, this is my fault."_

_She softly touched his shoulder. "Then get your act together, stop feeling sorry for yourself and make them trust you again." _

_He was surprised by her eagerness. Somehow the way she talked reminded him of her when she was still human. Full of hope and believe in true love._

"_If he is a full hybrid now, there's nothing that can stop him." He said._

_She stood up and put her hands in her hips. "For the last time, get up, find some clothes that don't smell, style your hair and tell your little brother who's the boss!"_

_He would never acknowledge it but never impressed him a woman as much as she did. _

"_By the way." She added in a much more nicer voice, "Everything will turn out right. I just know it."_

_He smiled. "Thank you, Katerina."_

"What are you going to do now?" Katherine asked him. He briefly glanced at his sister. Rebekah seemed happy where she was and maybe his family would find a home in Mystic Falls too. A few Originals more wouldn't even attract attention in a town like that.

"I will awake my family. I can't wait to see them again." He said, happy for the first time in years. "What will you, Katerina?" He asked then.

Katherine had no real plan. She spent so many centuries running from Klaus that she never actually thought about what to in case she would be free. "I don't know." She simply answered.

Elijah hesitated for a moment. He looked at her. She was still as beautiful as the day he first met her and he believed that deep inside, the human Katerina he once loved still existed. Maybe it was the right time to discover it. "You could join me." He said.

Katherine was surprised for a moment. "But only because I have nothing better to do." She said playfully.

"_Just when everything was all at sea_

_The boy made history_

_The bottom line_

_He sure can shine_

_His rising sign is Capricorn_

_He knew how to_

_He had a clue_

_Telling you a star is born_

Elena grabbed the mike from Caroline. "People of Mystic Falls, I can't tell you how much it means to me and I'm sure to everyone else that you celebrate us like that. I ask you know one last time, to cheer as loud as you can, for the true hero in this story. The man who saved us. The man I deeply love more than everything else in this world. Damon Salvatore."

Damon was a bit shocked by her heartfelt speech for a moment before Stefan and Tyler started to push him forwards.

Elena reached her hand out and Damon grabbed it. She softly touched his cheek and smiled at him. Damon looked around. Everyone was cheering at him. He couldn't believe it.

_Damon almost threw Elena into Elijah's arms. "Please make sure she is safe. Whatever will happen next, that's the only thing I care about." He said desperately._

_Elijah nodded. "You have my word." The both looked at each other for a short moment, not knowing if they will ever see each other again. _

"_Damon…" Elena said, close to tears. "You don't have to go." She said, almost begging. Damon softly kissed her forehead. "It's now or never. Bonnie weakened him a bit, we need to use this chance, even if it's that little." He turned away, ready to fight Klaus again, when Elena pulled him back and kissed him with all the love she had. "Just come back to me." She said._

"_I will." Damon said._

_He speeded back to where he had left Bonnie with Klaus. Everyone else was busy fighting or unconscious, so it was on them to take their chance. When he reached the place Bonnie was lying unconsciously on the ground. Even with Emily's help the power she used was too much. Klaus just looked at her with a bored expression. "You should think about getting a better witch." He said coldly._

_Damon trying to stay calm. He listened closely for a second and was relieved when her heard Bonnie's heartbeat._

"_Seriously, she's all you got?" Klaus asked and started to laugh. Damon was sure, that even if Bonnie weakened him a bit, his strength was already back. So it was him against the superpower hybrid. David versus Goliath._

"_I will kill you now." Klaus said causally and before Damon could react Klaus grabbed his throat. "You've been in my way far too long. I should have killed you a long time ago." Klaus hissed. Damon struggled to free himself, but how could he fight a being so much older? Then he remembered his fight with Caroline months ago. She could kick him, even if she was younger, he just needed the right motivation. And thinking about Elena, he had his reason._

_He threw Klaus off him and slammed him to the ground. "I wanted to tell you the same." He said with a smirk. _

_Klaus was surprised he didn't thought Damon could defend himself against him. He tried to attack again and again, but Damon countered everything._

"_How do you do that?" Klaus growled. _

_Damon smirked and this time he grabbed his throat. "Just the right motivations." He thought about the fire in the old Gilbert building and how he saw John staking Anna. His grip around Klaus throat hardened._

_Then his mind wandered to the night when Jeremy came to his house, he wanted to stake him and it ended into a moment in which he noticed how much he and the Gilbert boy had in common. He slammed Klaus to the ground. _

_The next thing that popped into his mind was Bonnie and how they plotted to fake her death at the decade dance, when Klaus first showed up in Mystic Falls. It was the first time the witch actually trusted him. He kicked Klaus' into the stomach._

_When Caroline first turned Stefan wanted her to drink animal blood, but Damon advised her to stay on blood bags. She listened to him and became probably the most impressive vampire when it came to self-control he ever met. He broke both of Klaus' legs._

_Damon and Tyler never had much to do with each other, but he admired him for being thankful for his transformation into a hybrid instead of freaking out. That boy was much stronger than people gave him credit for. He took a stake and slowly slit Klaus' stomach open._

_Alaric was his friend. When they first met he never thought that this strange wannabe vampire hunter who drank too much would become his best friend. He remembered it like it had been yesterday when Alaric first called him his friend. It was the night the stabbed Elijah (for the first time) and Ric had been badass. Damon was proud of him. "You know what, I enjoy torturing you bastard more than anything." He hissed into Klaus's ear before he broke his right arm._

_The first time he saw Katherine he thought he looked at an angel. Sure this view changed drastically but still they had an unbreakable bond and he was sure even in a five hundred years she would still manage to annoy him more than anyone else. He slammed Klaus deeper into the ground and broke his neck a few times._

_Damon remembered when he and Stefan were still humans. They were best friends, almost inseparable. They laughed, they talked, they shared their secrets. Damon could have never hated his brother, even if he pretended to. He wanted them to reconcile and this time, nothing should come between them. He pitied Klaus for not having a brother like Stefan._

_Thinking of Elena was too much. He couldn't even remember a special moment that gave him strength. He saw it all. All the smiles, the tears, the laughs, the cries, the slaps, the hugs, the stolen glances, the night on her porch, the flirting in her kitchen and the sweet kisses. "Now it will end once and for all." Damon said._

_Klaus was terrified. "How can that be? I'm older than you and stronger." He shouted._

_Damon smirked. "Yes, but I'm angrier." He quoted Caroline. And then he ended it. He ripped Klaus' heart out and ended what begun over a thousand of years ago. He sure made history that day._

When all the celebrations were finally done, Damon and Elena sat on her front porch, just enjoying each other's company.

"So, is that the end your carrier as Buffy?" he asked.

"How knows?" Elena said and laughed. "What are you thinking about?" she asked him after a moment of silence.

"Just how much I love you." He replied and kissed her forehead.

"Sweet, but seriously what are you thinking about?" That woman just knew him too well. "About today. Who would've thought that me of all people would have his hero moment one day?" He looked at Elena.

She smiled softly. "I did. I always knew you had it in you." She said and kissed him softly.

"_Every night a star is_

_Right in sight a star is_

_Burning bright a star is born"_


	13. Once Upon A December

_****_**AN: Sorry there was no update in such a long, long time, I've been pretty busy. Gladly this is only a one shot collection and no 'real' story to follow XD Anways this time I used a Non-Disney song from one of my favorite animated movies 'Anastasia'. I love that song. The OS turned out a bit different than it was planned and I'm not very satisfied with it, my writing was better once before, but I hope you'll forgive me.  
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**Please leave some comments and let me know what you think ^^**

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><p><em><strong>Once Upon A December<strong>_

"_Dancing bears, painted wings_

_Things I almost remember_

_And a song someone sings_

_Once upon a December"_

It was a cold night in Mystic Falls, winter wasn't far away and an elderly woman was walking up the stairs looking if her grandson was already asleep.

There was a dim light coming from his room. She shook her head and carefully opened the door. The little boy with the chocolate brown hair was standing at the window looking outside. "David." She said softly. "Shouldn't you be in bed already?"

The boy turned around and grinned. "But I'm not tired, grandma." He said.

She crossed her arms. "Your mother called twice asking if you were asleep and I told her you were, making your dear old granny lie to your mother….boy…" she said dramatically knowing it would get his attention.

And she was right. David jumped on his bed; she sat down next to him. "Sorry grandma. I didn't want you to lie." She was proud; her daughter did a remarkable job with the kid. "And you're not that old." He added, looking at her with his big dark eyes.

She put her arm around him. "So, how do we make you tired, my little hero?" she always called him that since he 'rescued' her from a big spider in the living room. David laughed; he liked to be a hero.

"You could tell me a story." He suggested. He loved listening to her stories. She smiled. "Alright the, you want something with talking animals or princesses?"

He made a funny face. "That's for girls, grandma!" he complained. "I want bloody fights and cars!"

She rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll go get your grandpa." She said and sighed. When it came to stories, her granddaughter was so much easier.

"No, wait!" David was under the impression that he hurt his grandmother. "I want to you tell me one, even if it's….girlie."

She sat down again. He looked at her eagerly. She needed to come up with something good, David was pretty clever for an eight year old.

"How about…I tell you a true story?" she suddenly had an idea. Winter always reminded her of a very special memory she'd like to share with him.

"Like something that really happened?" he asked excited? She nodded. "It is a love story."

He looked disgusted. "Grandma, that's for girrrrlllls." He complained. She chuckled. "Well, it is about vampires, too." That made David finally keen-eared. "I like vampires!"

His grandmother was satisfied, even if she was sure it wasn't the story he expected. "There was a girl and a vampire who loved her…" she started, smiling to herself.

"They need names!" David interrupted.

"Okay…how about well call them Elena and Damon?" she suggested. David rolled his eyes. "Not very creative."

She playfully slapped his arm. "My story, my names and now listen." She said amused.

David leaned back on his pillow, ready for the story.

"It happened a long, long time ago….Once upon a December…." And she drifted away, living through her memories again.

_It was cold in Mystic Falls, very cold actually. It was the middle of December and over night came the worst blizzard in a long time over the town. Everything was white. It looked like a picture from a postcard._

_Elena got up early; she didn't sleep well for a few weeks now and the storm outside didn't make it better. She wanted to go for a little walk, clear her head. Nothing in her life was going how it was supposed to be. Stefan was still being a total jerk, craving for revenge at Klaus. Bonnie was being strange and looking more often into dark magic than anyone liked. Caroline was caught in her own little love triangle between Tyler and surprisingly Klaus. Jeremy and Matt spent most of their time together, getting drunk. And Alaric had an alter ego who turned out to be a serial killer. Yep, life was awesome. _

_She opened the front door and was shocked. There was snow everywhere, the whole driveway snowed in._

"_Oh no…." she mumbled. "Why now?" she went back inside and searched for her father's old gloves, the big ones he always used for the yard work. She put them on and made her way through the masses of the snow to the garage. She grabbed the old shovel and started to get rid of the snow._

_She sighed heavily. It was hard work, but it needed to be done and she couldn't count on the two men living with her. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the person approaching her._

"_Whoa, easy there kitten." She looked up. _

"_What do you want Damon?" she asked annoyed. She wasn't in the mood for any company, especially not his. Things were awkward between them. She knew he loved her, he knew she still loved his brother; well at least he thought she did. Elena herself wasn't so sure anymore. She and Damon developed a very 'special' relationship during the last couple of months. They hung out a lot, they even had fun and yes, from time to time they kissed, but nothing more than that. Elena felt about it. She knew Damon wanted more, but she wasn't so sure she was ready for something new._

"_Well, first I don't want to be turned into a giant snow man." He said playfully, but she didn't laugh._

"_Someone is grumpy today." He noted. Elena continued her work without saying something. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her shovel. "Hey! Give it back!" she snapped._

_He held it up above her head. "Go get it." He challenged. _

_She put her hands to her hips. "Damon, no games today."_

_He didn't care. "Well, I'm the vampire you do as I say, Miss Snow Queen." He teased her. Elena rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you know I'll always win."_

"_Oh please Elena, how can you always win? I have superpowers. I'm super strong and super fast and –"he couldn't finish his sentence, suddenly her lips were pressed on his. Every time he felt her soft lips it was new sensation. He still couldn't believe he was allowed to kiss her and even if she wasn't his, well not official, they went miles forward in their relationship._

_He pulled her closer, not even noticing she grabbed the shovel. "Hah! See, I won!" she said and finally laughed. "I have the superpower of super kissing."_

"Uhm, grandma?" David asked carefully. His grandmother raised an eyebrow. "Yes, sweetheart?"

"That's so girlie." He said, sounding almost annoyed. She chuckled. "I could stop."

He eagerly shook his head. "No, no go ahead." He still wanted her to finish the story.

_They stared at each other for a while. "Why are you doing this? Don't you have little bro and step-daddy-history-teacher for that?" he asked._

_Elena shrugged. "One is a teen drunk and the other one a serial killer; I guess they're too busy for cleaning the driveway." _

_He gazed carefully at her. There she was his Elena, but then she wasn't. Her eyes weren't shining anymore, she looked pale and exhausted and such sarcastic comments? They were his thing not hers._

_He knew it was all getting too much for her. She needed a time out more than anybody._

"_Let me." He reached his hand out and this time she willingly gave him the shovel. In a blink of an eye the snow was gone. Elena smiled. "Impressive."_

"_You mean vampressive." He joked. She laughed briefly before her eyes were sad again. He scratched the back of his head. He hated it to feel helpless, but there was nothing he could do to change their current situation._

_Suddenly an idea came to his mind, he may couldn't help her, but he still could cheer her up. _

"_Come on, we should go." He said with a smirk._

"_Where?" she wasn't in the mood to go anywhere._

_His smirk grew bigger, he had the perfect idea. "It's a surprise."_

"_Damon, I'm really not in the mood –" this time he was the one to shut her up with a kiss. "Trust me, okay?" Sometimes it still amazed her how sweet he could be. She sighed. "Okay."_

_He grabbed her end when he suddenly noticed a problem. The streets where still icy, there was no way he could drive. "Elena…you have nothing against piggy back, right?"_

"_What?" before she could even react he grabbed her and made sure she was sitting on his back. "Close your eyes, love." He ordered. She did as he said and then he ran. It was an amazing feeling. For the first time in weeks she felt completely free. When she opened her eyes again, she was at a lake, but it was not the familiar lake in Mystic Falls, no this one was much bigger. It was surrounded by large trees. The surface was frozen and a few snowflakes were falling down on it. "Where are we?" she asked, amazed by the view._

_He softly took her hand and they started walking around the lake. "It's a secret place. Very old actually. My mother and I used to come here a lot." Elena carefully looked at him. He never talked about his mother and she never asked. The only thing Stefan told her once was that she died when he was still a baby, but Damon, he never mentioned her._

"_Close your eyes." He whispered into her ear. She giggled. Even if she didn't want to do anything suddenly she started to get excited. He shared a secret with her and it made her feel special. He grabbed her arms from behind and guided her forwards. "Can I open them?" she asked impatiently._

"_Just a second…and open!" Elena opened her eyes and almost forgot to breathe. There was an old manor, no to her it looked like an old palace in the middle of the woods. It was clearly a ruin, but you could still enter it. There was small tower on the top, huge windows and old stairs. It must've been very precious once upon a time. "Damon, this is so breathtaking."_

"_Wanna go inside?" He asked, obviously happy she liked it._

"_Is it safe?" she asked._

_He shrugged. "You have me to watch over you." And that was the truth, she knew he would always protect her._

_When they walked inside, Elena was impressed how intact the house still was. Sure it looked ruinous, the ceiling was broken, the stairs weren't safe and windows were smashed, but still it looked great. There were old paintings on the wall showing laughing angels, with colorful wings and dancing bears. She carefully touched them. She looked up, there even was a chandelier on the still existing part of the ceiling. Elena felt like she had gone back in time or she was transported into a fairytale. "It is so beautiful."_

_Damon watched every step she made. "My mother and I found it when I was a kid, she was teaching me how to ride a horse, but I was very clumsy and it ran off….with me still on it…" Elena could see he was reliving his memory. "She went after me and managed to calm the horse, she was really good with animals…" a sad smile appeared on his face. "None of us noticed where we were heading to and suddenly we were lost….that's when we found this place." He never shared this story with anyone. Not even Stefan knew the old manor._

"_Was it a ruin even back then?" she asked interested. He nodded. "It wasn't as destroyed as this, but no one lived here." He walked around, how many hours did he spent there?_

"_My mother and I used to come here very often, mostly when my father had his….aggressive phases. After she died it was the only place I felt safe and happy…" he explained and she could almost feel his pain._

_She grabbed his hand and squeezed it softly. "That's why you brought me here? To feel safe and happy?"_

_He softly touched her cheek. "It's all I want…your happiness."_

_She turned away. Whenever he said things like this she was reminded how much he loved her and it scared her. There were so many issues between them. Her still unresolved feelings for his brother, all the times both of them messed up, her friends and mostly his immortality. She told Stefan wants becoming a vampire would never be an option for her, so was it fair to keep him at her side, when she would eventually leave him one day?_

"_Close your eyes again." He suddenly said, interrupting her thoughts. She did it and immediately felt him in front of her. "Imagine how it must've been here before the house turned into a ruin." He whispered._

"_Can you see it? All is cleaned up and tidy and very cheesy." He chuckled, Elena smiled. "The chandelier is turned on, the portraits on the wall free of dusk, everything is bright." He took her hands and guided her through the room, her eyes were still closed. She enjoyed that moment more than words could ever describe it. _

"_Can you hear it? Music is playing. Laughter everywhere. People around you all dressed up in elegant dresses and suits." Elena giggled. She could see it right before her eyes. She saw the people, faces she didn't recognize, but still she felt comfortable. They were couples dancing to a cheerful sound. Children running around. _

"_But no one…" Damon continued, "No one looks as beautiful as you. You wear that long blue dress silk dress, your hair is a bit pinned up, but a few curls are free…you walk on these shoes I'm afraid of…" she laughed light-hearted. She could feel the silk on her skin. _

"_You feel a bit lost…" he steps away. "And you're searching for someone…"_

"_And I look around…" Elena said, never opening her eyes, she just enjoyed the pictures he made alive in her head. "And I spot you in the crowd." She walked towards him, instinctively knowing who was. "I walk towards you…"_

"_And I walk towards you…" His voice was husky. "And then I'm near you…"_

_She reached her hand out. "And you take me into your arms." He laid an arm around her tiny waist. "And we dance…" she said, suddenly remembering their first dance together._

_Damon moved them carefully around, Elena buried her head in his chest. And for a moment, she wasn't in this old mention, she was not even in her own time anymore. She was in a beautiful ballroom, in a timeless place and felt the one thing she craved for since her parents died: True happiness._

_She slowly opened her eyes to look at him. "I love you." She said and it was unexpected for both of them._

"_What?" He thought he was in the middle of one of his endless dreams._

_She needed to process what she just said. Was it just the moment that made her feel that way? No. She knew it better. "I said I love you." She repeated and meant every word of it._

_He gulped, unable to find the words to express his feelings. Elena softly caressed his cheek before she leaned in and kissed him. _

The old woman looked at her grandson who was almost asleep. "It was too girlie, wasn't it?" she asked with a smile.

David yawned. "Yes…but I liked it. I mean she had a brother to worry and a step dad or so who was crazy a vampire ex-boyfriend who was also crazy, no parents and a lot of problems and he managed to make her happy, that was nice. Plus, vampires are cool."

She stroked his head. "David, you may not understand it now, but once you meet someone who makes you happy, don't be scared to tell the person."

He yawned again. "What happened with them?"

She looked questioning at him. "What do you mean, sweetie?"

"Did they stay together?" It was cute how invested he suddenly was in her story.

"Yes. They became a couple and faced all of their problems together?" What problems exactly she didn't mention.

But that answer wasn't enough for the boy. "Did she become a vampire?"

That question surprised his grandmother. She hesitated a while before answering. "No…she did not."

David's eyes widened. "What? No! He loved her so much and she loved him and then she decided to stay human? Why?"

His sudden outburst took her by surprise. "She didn't want to miss out things in life." She tried to calm him down. "She wanted a family."

He shook his head, not believing what he just heard. "But as a vampire she would have had superpowers and she would have had him, wasn't that enough? I mean that's selfish…he did such nice things for her…"

"Its time to sleep." His grandmother said. "And for the record, they both ended up happy."

David seemed to calm down by knowing that, but still he couldn't understand it. He crawled under his blanket. "That was still a nice story grandma." She gently kissed his forehead, the boy was almost asleep. "Good night and have wonderful dreams, my little hero."

"Love you….grandma…" he closed his eyes and fell into a soundless sleep.

She got up and walked to the window, it was still open. As she looked outside she spotted a dark figure watching from the other side of the street. She smiled. "Did you like my story as well?" she whispered, knowing he could hear every word. "I miss you, I wish David could meet you…maybe one day." The figure didn't move. "Thank you…for looking out for our family." She sighed and closed the window, knowing he would always watch from the shadows.

She walked downstairs. Her husband was still awake, watching some old football game.

"Is he finally asleep?" he asked as his wife snuggled against him. "He is such a madcap." She chuckled.

"He is just like Miranda." He husband said amused.

She raised an eyebrow. "And Miranda is just like you." She teased.

He gave her an innocent look. "Hey, don't blame me. At least our boys take after your side of the family."

She smiled. "I saw him tonight, outside David's window." She watched her husband carefully, he looked lost for a moment before he collected himself.

"He will always watch our family." He stated.

She shook her head. "No, he will always watch his family."

They watched the game for a while, but still there was something she couldn't get out of her mind. "Do you ever regret it? The decision you made? That you ask Bonnie to do it?"

He was surprise, they hadn't talked about that topic for several years now. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "Just something David said."

He pulled her closer. "I would lie if I say I never miss it, but no, I don't regret it. You know that the first year was tough, but we managed it."

She hated it to think about their first year after spell, things were difficult back then.

"Did I ever tell you the exact moment when I decided it was the best decision I've ever made?" he asked her with a grin.

"No…." she looked at him with excitement.

"It was that snowy day in December, a bit over a year after the spell. We were at our spot, the mansion and….you told me you were pregnant with Miranda." He softly kissed her hair.

She smiled. That was a good memory. "Look at us. Three kids and two grandchildren…"

He played with her fingers. "I would say three kids and _three _grandchildren…but…I can be mistaken…" he said mischievously.

Her eyes widened. "Do you know something I don't?"

He turned the TV off. "I maybe talked to our son while you were upstairs."

"Which one?" she asked, annoyed he obviously didn't plan on telling her.

"I'm not saying a thing. He wants to tell you by himself." He got up, ready to go to bed.

She ran after him. "You can't drop such a bomb on me and just go to bed!"

He put his finger under her chin to lift it up. "Don't pretend to be mad"

She rolled her eyes, even now in his age, he was still the same. "Who says I'm pretending?" she asked playfully.

"Well, you can't be mad at me wanna know why?" he asked.

She loved that he still could flirt with her and made a hundreds of butterflies dance in her stomach. "Please enlighten me."

He smirked, still the infamous smirk she fall in love with. "I get to you, you find yourself drawn to me, you think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dream about me and right now…you want to kiss me."

She was moved that he still remembered the words he used all those years ago. "You do realize that this conversation ended in me slapping you, right?"

"You really still remember that night." He said almost impressed.

"I haven't forgotten a single moment." She caressed his cheek, like she did when she first confessed her love for him. "It all started….once upon a December…"

He softly kissed her lips. "See, I have still some superpowers, I can always lull you, Elena."

She slapped his arm. "Shut up, Damon."

They went upstairs, hand in hand like they did ever since that night in December.

'_And a song someone sings_

_Once upon a December"_


End file.
